It’s hard to ignore that both the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers are in a state of uncertainty given that they’re simultaneously retooling/rebuilding following failures to make the playoffs, and there are several reports suggesting that these franchises will be sold within the next few years.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that Oregon native and Nike founder Phil Knight and his group, which includes Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky, submitted a bid for more than $2 billion to purchase the Blazers. In the briefest of brief statements, the Blazers confirmed Knight’s offer was received but that the NBA franchise is not for sale.
“An offer was made by Phil Knight. The team remains not for sale,” the statement read.
The Blazers and Seahawks are both owned by the Paul G. Allen Trust, with Paul’s sister Jody serving as the chair of the trust and executor of his estate. While the Blazers may be saying they aren’t for sale, NBA commissioner Adam Silver pretty much spilled the beans.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the Trail Blazers “at some point” will be put up for sale, though timetable uncertain. Comment comes as Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Adam Smolinisky made a bid for the team.
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBG) June 3, 2022
For what it’s worth, there is absolutely zilch to suggest the Blazers will leave Portland, let alone go up to Seattle. In a world where Phil Knight does purchase the Blazers that would only further establish intentions to keep the team in town.
Now this is a Seattle Seahawks news site so there must be some sort of Seahawks tie-in, correct? Well Roger Goodell didn’t have much to say a couple of weeks back.
I asked Roger Goodell 2 weeks ago about the future of Seahawks ownership as it relates to the Paul Allen trust. “I don’t see any immediate change in ownership,” Goodell said then. https://t.co/3Ptbe7Q9UD
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) June 2, 2022
The Seattle Times was told that “nothing has changed with the Seahawks — the team is not for sale and there is no indication it will be any time soon.”
Maybe that’s true, but you just read the NBA commissioner essentially contradict what the Blazers said and align himself more closely with John Canzano’s story, which says it was a directive from the late Microsoft co-founder that (among other assets) the Blazers and Seahawks must be sold. It is expected that of the two teams, the Blazers would be sold first and the Seahawks would presumably follow shortly thereafter.
So while we shouldn’t expect an ownership change for the Seahawks within this season or even next season, these denials don’t really hold up to what’s been reported across multiple outlets over the past several months. A new era of Seahawks ownership seems inevitable, it’s just a matter of when and not if.