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Seattle Seahawks' cost explained: Here's what Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are offering
Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are among those showing interest in buying the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seattle Seahawks have been up for sale for two months and now some the biggest names in the tech world are showing interest in buying one of the NFL's most valuable franchises.
According to Front Office Sports, at least four potential majority buyers have expressed interest in purchasing the team. The two most notable names are Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Tim Cook, who recently announced he will step down as CEO to become executive vice president of Apple's board of directors.
Five sources familiar with the matter told Front Office Sports that Zuckerberg is considering a bid, while four separate sources say Cook is also weighing an offer. It was not immediately clear whether any formal bids have been made yet.
The financial gap between the two is significant. Zuckerberg has a net worth of more than $206 billion while Cook's is $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.
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So how much will the Seahawks actually cost?
However, no one knows the exact answer yet.
Sources are divided on the final number with some believing the sale could surpass $10 billion, while others think it may land closer to $8 billion, as per Front Office Sports.
To understand how much the Seattle Seahawks could sell for, here are few numbers of recent NFL deals.
In September, the New York Giants sold a 10% minority stake to Julie Koch and her family at a $10 billion valuation. In March, the Miami Dolphins sold just a 1% stake to tech entrepreneur Lin Bin at a reported $12.5 billion valuation, according to Front Office Sports.
According to NBC Sports, these numbers are important because official valuations don’t decide the final price, it depends on what buyers are willing to pay. Experts expect the Seahawks to sell for somewhere between $9 billion and $11 billion.
One big reason the Seahawks are so valuable is that NFL teams are rare and tend to keep increasing in value.
Why the Seahawks are being sold
The sale is happening because of the last wishes of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who said that his sports holdings be sold before he died in 2018. Those assets included the Seahawks, the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and a 25% stake in MLS's Seattle Sounders.
The Seahawks were officially put up for sale on February 18, just 10 days after winning Super Bowl LX.
