TOP STORIES
Team Sale
Zuckerberg, Cook, and Ballmer Are All Circling the Seahawks. The Price Tag Starts at $8 Billion.
The Seahawks are for sale. We knew that. What we didn’t know is that the buyer pool reads like the Forbes 400 guest list. Front Office Sports reported Thursday that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook are both considering bids, with at least four potential majority buyers expressing interest.
Then Puck’s Dylan Byers threw cold water on the whole thing, posting that sources close to both men say neither is directly bidding. His theory: they may be invested in funds putting together bids, which is a very different thing than writing a personal check for a football team. Still, the names are out there. And where there’s smoke in NFL ownership circles, there’s usually someone with $200 billion in net worth standing nearby.
BetOnline has Steve Ballmer as the favorite at 2/1, ahead of Cook at 3/1 and Zuckerberg at 6/1. Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who owns the Clippers, has deep Pacific Northwest roots and the kind of money that makes $10 billion feel like a rounding error. NFL ownership rules would likely require him to sell the Clippers, but that hasn’t stopped the oddsmakers.
Paul Allen bought this team for $194 million in 1997 to keep it in Seattle. The sale is expected to break the record set by the Commanders’ $6.05 billion price tag, and Adam Schefter has said it could set a new record for any sports franchise. Whoever writes the winning check will be buying a Super Bowl champion, a loyal fanbase, and a front office that runs itself. That last part is worth more than any of us want to admit.
$194M → $10B
What Paul Allen paid for the Seahawks in 1997 vs. the high-end sale estimate today.
SOURCES →
Analysis
Wilbon Might Have Just Leaked the Week 1 Opponent. And It Makes Too Much Sense.
Keep Reading ↓
The logic checks out. The Rams and 49ers are in Melbourne. The Chiefs are eliminated because of Mahomes’ ACL timeline. The Bears were one game away from facing Seattle in the NFC Championship last year, and Caleb Williams against this defense is the kind of storyline the NFL’s scheduling department lives for. Chicago’s seven fourth-quarter comebacks made them must-watch TV. Banner night at Lumen Field deserves a worthy opponent.
“
Banner night at Lumen Field deserves a worthy opponent. Caleb Williams walking into the loudest building in football on a Wednesday might be exactly that.
The full schedule drops mid-May, likely between May 12 and 15 based on the league’s recent patterns. We’ll know for certain then. But if you’re already planning to take September 9 off work, you’re probably not wrong.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Russell Wilson is in “deep discussions” with CBS about replacing Matt Ryan on The NFL Today, per The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. The man who quarterbacked Super Bowl XLVIII might end up analyzing games from a desk. Somehow that hurts more than the interception. Pro Football Rumors
Dante Fowler remains Seattle’s “top option” at edge rusher, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. The comp pick deadline has passed. There is nothing stopping this deal except, apparently, the deal itself. NBC Sports
The Seahawks moved Rylie Mills from DT to DE on the official roster. Mills recorded a sack in just five Super Bowl snaps while dragging an offensive lineman with him. Year Two at a new position, fully healthy. Worth watching. SI on Seahawks
The NFL schedule release is targeting May 12-14, per CBS Sports, though the league’s VP of broadcast planning said it could slip to the third week. The five-game streaming package negotiations with YouTube, Netflix, and Fox are part of the holdup. CBS Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Williams standoff is resolved. The Nacua extension is not. Stafford hasn’t said a word about the Ty Simpson pick. And McVay is on a media tour explaining why drafting a quarterback at 13 who won’t play this year was actually genius. The Rams’ offseason energy is a man enthusiastically describing a five-year plan while the house is on fire.
NINERS
San Francisco paid Trent Williams $50 million to stay through his age-39 season, making him the first non-QB to surpass $400 million in career contracts. They still have the worst pass rush in the NFL. They spent their first pick on a receiver two rival GMs called a reach. George Kittle is rehabbing an Achilles tear. But sure, there’s “a buzz in the building.”
CARDINALS
FanDuel has Arizona’s projected win total at 4.5, tied with Miami for the worst in football. They drafted Jeremiyah Love at No. 3, Carson Beck in the third round, didn’t address edge or right tackle, and their nominal starting quarterback went 1-11 last year and is demanding to be paid like a franchise cornerstone. LaFleur says he feels “really good” about the quarterback room. LaFleur should feel really good about his therapist, too.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Chad Brown signed with the Seahawks as a free agent in 1997 and became one of the most productive linebackers in franchise history over eight seasons in Seattle. How many career tackles did Brown record as a Seahawk, and where does that rank in franchise history?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
744 career tackles, sixth-most in franchise history. Brown also racked up 48 sacks and three fumble return touchdowns as a Seahawk, tying Bobby Wagner for the most fumble return TDs in team history.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Drop your mailbag question below. Cap math, roster predictions, existential dread about the team sale, historical grudges you can’t let go of. Whatever’s on your mind. Best questions get answered in a future issue.
Somewhere, Paul Allen is watching billionaires fight over his football team and smiling. The franchise is in good hands until it's in different hands. Go Hawks. — The Rooster