All eyes in the NFL office are on the sale of the Seattle Seahawks.
The NFL is reportedly trying to land a record amount for the Seahawks sale, with insider Jason La Canfora reporting the league has placed the price tag at $10 billion.
A $10 billion sale would tie the Los Angeles Lakers for the largest price fetched for a North American sports franchise. The Buss family sold the Lakers to Mark Walter in 2025 for that amount, which exceeded the previous record price of $6.5 billion for the Boston Celtics, who also were sold last year.
The NFL record sale for a team was the Washington Commanders, whom Josh Harris purchased from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion in 2023.
The NFL is Trying to get $10 Billion for the Seahawks
The Seahawks sale is perfectly timed from the NFL’s perspective.
Seattle is, of course, coming off it second Super Bowl championship in February. The Seahawks have one of the best and most loyal fan bases in the NFL, has a beautiful venue in Lumen Field and is set up to compete for the foreseeable future.
So it’s no surprise to those around the league that the Seahawks are in line for a record sale, which could be closed this summer.
“The Seahawks are a high-water franchise on multiple levels, and thus the NFL wants to maximize this sale at a time when other owners are watching closely,” La Canfora reported for Sports Boom. “The Seahawks draw fans from multiple states as well as Canada, with a world-class stadium and a proactive facility. They have a history of winning going back decades, by and large, and an esteemed front office across football operations, communications, marketing and sales.
“According to multiple high-ranking NFL team officials, including some who have worked closely with the Park Avenue league office on matters such as this in the past, the NFL is invested in the sale of this signature regional franchise, shattering all previous markers.”
So it’s not surprising the Seahawks would fetch an NFL record-setting amount when they are sold, particularly in a state like Washington, which is rife with billionaires.
But the news is the NFL deems the Seahawks a club valued at 10 figures, which in turn would substantially raise the valuations of all the NFL teams.
“I don’t think I’m telling any tales here,” a high-ranking NFL team official told La Canfora for Sports Boom. “In the league’s valuation, this is a $10B franchise. Maybe it’s more, maybe it’s a little less. But if Seattle is $10B, then Baltimore is that $8B? You see how that goes.
“It’s a model franchise anyway you appraise it.”
The NFL may Open the Door to Private Equity for the Seahawks Sale
Even amid an uber-friendly regulatory environment, there are only so many people who can afford to spend $10 billion on a pro sports team.
So the NFL may be letting a genie out of the bottle by empowering private-equity firms to step in and purchase bits of teams, in order to raise valuations.
The league will, of course, still require at single governor to oversee operations and vote at league meetings and affairs. But private equity investments effectively stand to empower high-income individuals to effectively buy and sell teams to make a fast, robust profit.
“The league recently altered its regulations to allow private equity firms to amass up to 10 of its franchises,” La Canfora reported. “[It is] a seismic shift within football circles [and] is an overarching objective for the NFL, the sources said, the timing of which will have significant ramifications on other teams that are closer to hitting the market than not.”
Insider: NFL Hoping for Record Price Tag for Seahawks Sale