It could be Apple vs. Facebook for the Seahawks.
Facebook/Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been linked to the sale of the reigning Super Bowl champions, according to Front Office sports.
The pair of tech heavyweights reportedly are among four groups that have expressed interest, although sources described their interest to FOS as in the consideration phase for a potential bid.
It is unclear if any party has made a bid, per Front Office Sports.
A report from Puck, however, cautioned that the two may be parts of funds that ultimately bid on the teams, rather than spearheading the efforts.
Neither Cook nor Zuckerberg own a sports franchise, and they have the opportunity to succeed another technology giant in late Microsoft co-owner Paul G. Allen.
Allen’s estate announced shortly after the team won its second Super Bowl in February — a 29-13 win over the Patriots — that it “commenced a formal sale process” of the franchise, which is “consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sport holdings and all Estate proceedings to his philanthropy.”
Investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Latham & Watkins are leading the process, according to the release from the team.
The Seahawks stand to make a pretty penny once a sale is completed based on recent history when NFL franchises have been sold.
Allen bought the franchise for roughly $194 million in 1997.
Josh Harris bought the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion in 2023 in the last instance of a team hitting the market.
Sources estimated to Front Office Sports that the Seahawks should set the new mark and could be sold for somewhere in the $8 billion-$10 billion range.
Billionaire Julia Koch and her family bought a 10-percent share of the Giants at a record $10 billion valuation last year.
Zuckerberg and Cook are both billionaires, although Zuckerberg’s net worth of $222 billion, per Forbes, far outpaces Cook’s $2.8 billion mark.
Any NFL ownership transfer would require at least three-fourths of the league’s team to approve such a transactions.
