TOP STORIES
Team Sale
The Race to Own the Champs Is Down to Two
The sale of the most expensive franchise in NFL history now has a final table. Per Front Office Sports’ Ben Horney, the bidding has narrowed to two groups: one led by Celtics minority owner Aditya Mittal alongside former Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck, and another led by 49ers minority investor Vinod Khosla. First-round bids closed, and the field thinned in a hurry.
The casualties are notable. Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos pulled himself out. And Todd Boehly, floated for weeks as an emerging contender, is reportedly no longer in the running. So much for that. The room that was supposedly stuffed with billionaire firepower quietly got a lot smaller.
$9.5B
One sports-law expert’s guess at the final price, which would blow past the Commanders’ record $6.05B sale.
Here’s the part that should make your morning coffee taste better: one of the two groups reportedly includes at least one former Seahawks player. Nobody will say who, or which group. That’s the kind of detail that turns a dry finance story into a week of fan speculation, and I’m here for all of it.
And here’s the part that made me laugh out loud. If Khosla’s group wins, the family would have to sell its minority stake in the 49ers to complete the purchase. Imagine having to divest from San Francisco just for the privilege of owning the team that beat them. I can think of worse conditions attached to a deal.
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Imagine having to divest from San Francisco just for the privilege of owning the team that beat them. I can think of worse conditions attached to a deal.
One source told FOS it’s down to just these two. Another cautioned that a late bidder could still crash the party, the way Steve Ballmer did with the Clippers in 2014. Sources expect more news next month, which lines up with the August timeline that’s floated around this whole process. The estate has run this franchise since 1997. The next chapter is close.
SOURCES →
Recognition
The League Finally Admits Leonard Williams Is the Best
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What makes it satisfying is the source. This isn’t a Seattle blogger with an agenda. It’s the rest of the NFL’s front offices, the people who game-plan against him, voting the guy they least want to see. ESPN was careful to note the ranking reflects who’s best right now, not a career achievement award. Williams didn’t get a lifetime pass. He earned this on the current tape.
Which brings us to the uncomfortable math. Williams is entering the final year of his deal, turns 32, and just got publicly stamped as the best at his position by the people who set the market. Nothing complicates an extension negotiation quite like your player winning a leaguewide popularity contest three weeks before camp. Schneider’s to-do list didn’t get shorter this week.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
ESPN and the NFL rolled out those position rankings and slotted Devon Witherspoon high enough to make his ongoing extension staring contest even pricier. Schneider gets to negotiate against a number the league itself just endorsed. Nothing like the NFL doing your player’s agent a favor for free. A to Z Sports
MyNorthwest broke down the rare continuity this roster carries into camp for a defending champion. Turns out winning a Super Bowl and then bringing basically everyone back is a good idea. Groundbreaking stuff, but it’s nice to have it in writing. MyNorthwest
Seaside Joe keeps grinding through his ranking of all 91 players on the roster, now up into the top 25. It’s the offseason content equivalent of eating one chip at a time, and I’ve read every single one. No notes. Seaside Joe
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Matthew Stafford went on Chris Long’s show and explained why he lives on a year-to-year deal at 38: he wants to reassess mentally, physically, and emotionally after each season. Which is a lovely, thoughtful answer that also means the Super Bowl favorite’s entire window is now tied to whether one guy’s body feels like showing up next August. Build the whole roster around a man who reserves the right to walk away every offseason. Bold.
NINERS
Bleacher Report’s fix for San Francisco’s lone offensive line question, left guard, is to sign 36-year-old free agent Kevin Zeitler and skip the competition entirely. So the plan to protect their franchise quarterback is a 14-year veteran who’ll turn 37 during the season. Nothing says stable Super Bowl window like solving your line with a guy old enough to have blocked for players who’ve already retired.
CARDINALS
SI says Marvin Harrison Jr. is entering the make-or-break third year, the season where the former No. 4 overall pick is finally supposed to break out under a new head coach after two disappointing years of injuries and inconsistency. The generational receiver hype has quietly become a referendum. Two years in, and Arizona is already using the phrase ‘flip the script’ about a guy they drafted to be the script.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
This quarterback was drafted second overall by Seattle in 1993, one pick after Drew Bledsoe, and set NFL rookie records for pass attempts, completions, and passing yards on his way to UPI Rookie of the Year. Who is he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Rick Mirer. The Notre Dame product looked like a franchise savior as a rookie, then never sniffed those numbers again and was out of Seattle after just four seasons. The ‘next Joe Montana’ label did not age well.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Fire it into the mailbag. Contract math, camp battles, who you think that mystery former Seahawk in the ownership group might be. I read everything, I answer the good ones, and I never reveal my name.
Fifteen days to camp, and the biggest bidding war in league history just got two seats shorter. — The Rooster