The Paul G. Allen Estate has announced that the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers are for sale, in a move that could have implications for the return of the Seattle Supersonics and sale of the Seattle Seahawks.
In a short announcement, the Estate wrote:
“The Estate of Paul G. Allen today announced it has commenced a formal sales process for the Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchise, consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all Estate proceeds to philanthropy.
“The Estate has selected investment bank Allen & Company and law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, which is estimated to continue into the 2025-26 basketball season. The NBA Board of Governors must then ratify a final purchase agreement.
“This news does not affect the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise or the Estate’s 25% interest in the Seattle Sounders MLS, and neither is for sale.”
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who owned the Blazers and Seahawks, passed away in 2018. It has widely been believed that the estate, controlled by Jody Allen, was required to sell the Blazers and Seahawks within a given period of time. The Seahawks situation was complicated by a provision in the deal to build Lumen Field that banned the sale of the franchise unless a new owner paid the state 10% of the sale price. That provision expired last year.
The NBA’s Commissioner Adam Silver has expressed interest in expansion, noting Las Vegas and Seattle as potential future destinations. He originally suggested that process would begin last year, but is now hedging on a date to begin discussions. Silver has noted that the sale of the NBA’s Boston Celtics has been an internal discussion point. That $6.1 billion dollar deal has to be approved by owners. The Minnesota Timberwolves recently finalized a long-protracted deal at $1.5 billion. The Blazers could conceivably be sold for at around $4 billion based on market conditions.
The Blazers negotiated a 5-year “bridge” lease extension with Portland last year, which prohibits the team from leaving Moda Center. Moda is owned by the city of Portland. The Arena will be the home of the future WNBA franchise as well.
Nike Founder Phil Knight made a very public offer to purchase the Blazers a few years ago, and Mackenzie Scott’s name has been thrown around in Portland circles as a potential buyer.
In an interview with SiriusXM that also posted on Tuesday, Silver said expansion “will be on the agenda to discuss” at a meeting of NBA owners in July.
Silver then name-checked both Seattle and Las Vegas as potential expansion locations, as he has done before.
Lauren Anderson is a long time sports executive and runs the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Business Center. She says the Blazers sale process may muddy the expansion process, but could also motivate the NBA to set a pricetag on expansion before finalizing any sort of Portland deal.
Having two properties in the Pacific Northwest, you’d like to know, right? If I’m an owner or a potential owner, I want to know. I want to know what the price point and what my expansion fee is going to be. Because what if I had all the money in the world, would I want to roll the dice in Seattle, or would I want to roll the dice in Portland?” Anderson says the recent Celtics deal that was announced for north of $6 billion was a premium price for a long-established brand and franchise.
Anderson makes the argument that the NBA would benefit by establishing the Seattle and Vegas prices before Portland. “It’s just saying that all the franchises are that much more valuable. You set that mark (in Seattle), and someone comes in and pays that, then I’m looking to buy the Blazers. There’s probably a little bit of a lift there.”
