Seahawks begin process of selling team — less than two weeks after Super Bowl win

Ever dreamed of buying a defending Super Bowl champion franchise?

Well, now you can — if you have a few billion dollars lying around. 

The Estate of Paul G. Allen announced it had “commenced a formal sale process” of the Seahawks just 10 days after the franchise captured its second Super Bowl title with a 29-13 win over the Patriots at Levi’s Stadium. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hands the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Jody Allen of the Seahawks after their Super Bowl win over the Patriots on Feb. 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, Calif. Getty Images

In a statement announcing the news, the Allen estate said the sale of the Seahawks is “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 Latham & Watkins to lead the sale process, which is estimated to continue through the 2026 off-season.

NFL owners must then ratify a final purchase agreement,” the statement continued. 

Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, purchased the Seahawks in 1997 for around $200 million. 

The team’s current home, Lumen Field, was built, and Seattle won its first Super Bowl (2014) during his tenure and made another Big Game appearance the following season.

Allen died in 2018, and his younger sister, Jody Allen, has been the chair of the franchise since. 

Seahawks owner Paul Allen on the field before their win over the Giants on Oct. 22, 2017, at MetLife Stadium. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

At the time of his death, Allen owned the Seahawks, Trail Blazers and a 25 percent stake in the Sounders.

As part of his will, Allen directed his sister to eventually sell off his sports holdings and use the proceeds for charity. 

The Seahawks were valued at an estimated $6.59 billion last year by Sportico. Forbes valued the team at $6.7 billion. 

The sale of the Seahawks is expected to set a new NFL record, with some suggesting they could sell for as much as $8 billion. 

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Cup of Cavs: NBA news and links for Thursday, Feb. 19

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 14: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on December 14, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Good morning, it’s Thursday, February 19th. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 34-21 and finally play basketball again for the first time since last Wednesday.

A lot has happened since we last previewed a Cavs game. I totaled my car. Jaylon Tyson and Donovan Mitchell competed in All-Star weekend. And, Cleveland went a few days in a row without snowing or dipping below freezing. All in all, not too bad.

The Cavs will host the Brooklyn Nets tonight at 7 PM. Cleveland is 1-0 against the Nets this season.

Today’s Game of the Day

• Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks – 7:30 PM, Prime Video

There’s a power vacuum in the East this season. And even with the best record in basketball, the Pistons are still trying to prove that they belong at the top of the conference. A showdown with the Knicks could help them earn some more goodwill.

But, as Cavs fans know, the only way to beat the ‘regular season merchant’ accusations is to prove it in the playoffs. A win tonight won’t cement the Pistons. But it could be a fun statement game regardless.

The rest of the NBA schedule

• Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards – 7 PM
• Atlanta Hawks at Philadelphia 76ers – 7 PM
• Houston Rockets at Charlotte Hornets – 7 PM
• Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls – 8 PM
• Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 PM
• Orlando Magic at Sacramento Kings – 10 PM
• Boston Celtics at Golden State Warriors – 10 PM
• Denver Nuggets at LA Clippers – 10:30 PM

Cavs links of the day

• Cavs star Donovan Mitchell gets hilarious results in NBA Player Poll – Fear the Sword
• Predicting Cavs rotation after All-Star Break – Sports Illustrated
• Early James Harden Impressions (VIDEO) – Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show

NBA links

• Five biggest things to watch as NBA returns from All-Star Break – Yahoo Sports
• NBA Viewers Guide – ESPN

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Golden Nuggets: Vamos 49ers

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 21: Fred Warner #54 of the San Francisco 49ers take the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Estadio Azteca on November 21, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) | Getty Images

49ers returning to Mexico City for second international game of 2026 NFL season
“The 49ers are designated the home team for the game in Mexico City, while the Rams are the home team for the game in Melbourne, Australia. San Francisco will play eight games at Levi’s Stadium, seven true road games and two international games to comprise its 17-game regular season schedule. 

The 49ers’ opponent in Mexico City, as well as the date and kickoff time, will be announced when the full schedule is released in the spring, according to the NFL.” 

Offseason Mailbag: Will the 49ers actually address O-Line? (Paywall)
“Kawachipto on YouTtube asks: What is the biggest shift/change you predict Morris brings to the defensive scheme? 

More man coverage and Cover-6, with a heavy lean on Renardo Green. That’s a pure guess because we won’t have a real clue until they add new players. Morris is a polyglot of scheme. 

But Green, I think, is the ideal person to want to coach up, and the 49ers’ frustrations are, in large part, due to Green’s upside. I think he’s a much better corner than Deommodore Lenoir, or at least, can be. I think they’ll want to get the best out of him, specifically. 

Duxstar-Niners on YouTube asks: If the niners realized they needed to actually invest in the Oline this year and take a Tackle is there any worth taking if they fall ? Also do you think the Niners should take a safety in the first round if available? 

1. Yes. I could see a few scenarios where they have viable options. Buuuut, they’d all have to be tackle/guard viable. They’re picky. They need to have tackle upside but immediate guard utility. That’s not Monroe Freeling, though he’s typically fit the mold of their tackles. The options are Caleb Lomu and Kadyn Proctor. 2. I would probably lean no in this class. I like Thieneman, but I’m not sure he shifts the paradigm enough. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is sick, but I’m not convinced he’s a true single-high player.” 

49ers mailbag: How can they catch Seahawks, Rams? How to help Nick Bosa? (Paywall)
“Yes, the 49ers have a type — big and brawny — when it comes to their defensive ends. They want them to be sturdy enough as run defenders to “set the edge” — not allowing running backs to get to the sideline by fending off perimeter blocks by tackles and tight ends. 

Bosa is 6-foot-4, 266 pounds. Yetur Gross-Matos: 6-5, 265. Clelin Ferrell: 6-4, 265. Sam Okuayinonu: 6-1, 269. See a pattern? 

That said, Shanahan never sounded more willing to tweak his defensive philosophy last month before replacing coordinator Robert Saleh with Raheem Morris, who doesn’t have a background in the 49ers’ 4-3, Seattle-style scheme. Notably, he hired Morris instead of in-house candidate Gus Bradley, who helped popularize the system the 49ers have run since Shanahan was hired. 

“That’s how this league works now,” Shanahan said of becoming less predictable on defense. “Offensive coaches know how to attack things too much and so you have to (increase) the variables on what they know they’re going to get.”

It’s possible tweaks to the defensive front could prompt the 49ers to cast a wider net when it comes to edge rushers, allowing them to increase their draft odds on hitting on the right prospect.” 

Maxx Crosby to 49ers? Adam Schefter reveals the likely trade cost
““I was told that the Raiders don’t want to trade [Maxx Crosby], and if they even contemplated it, then it would take a Micah Parsons-type package. That’s what I was told,” Schefter said on Philadelphia area radio station 97.5 The Fanatic while discussing a potential Crosby-to-Eagles scenario. “Do I think they are getting two firsts and a player? No. Do I think they want to trade him? No. Do I think he’ll be traded like A.J. Brown [could be]? That’ll change by the week.”

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Ex-Steelers star defends Ben Roethlisberger after ‘pure-out attack’ by Joey Porter

Joey Porter Sr.’s blistering attack on Ben Roethlisberger’s character isn’t the belief of all his former teammates. 

James Harrison, who was Roethlisberger’s teammate from 2004-2012 and again from 2014-2017, defended the quarterback during his podcast that was posted this week, saying that “I do not think Ben is a bad teammate.”

Harrison’s reply came after Porter went scorched earth on Roethlisberger, calling him “just not a good teammate” and saying that he was not a good person.

Porter also went after Harrison with his comments, accusing both players of breaking the “brotherhood” over their criticisms of former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. 

“That was a pure-out attack on Ben’s character, and what I said about Mike was an attack on his coaching,” Harrison said on the “Deebo and Joe” podcast. “Two different things. That’s more breaking the brotherhood than what Ben said. Ben said, ‘I think I feel like maybe Tomlin should move on.’ Like, come on, bruh. That’s what he said.”

James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers walks onto the field before the start of the game against the Oakland Raiders at Heinz Field on November 8, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Getty Images

Ben Roethlisberger, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback participates in a ceremony at halftime of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Pittsburgh, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. AP

“I went way harder than that,” Harrison added. “But [Porter] went on [the attack] because he, obviously, has a personal issue with Ben that hasn’t been resolved.”

During the scathing commentary against Roethlisberger, Porter specifically mentioned instances where the QB refused to sign gear for teammates. 

Harrison acknowledged that Roethlisberger’s ego may have impacted the way he handled himself early on in his career. 

Joey Porter Sr. speaks on SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIX on February 05, 2025. Getty Images for SiriusXM

“Hell yeah, that’s going to stroke my ego and give me delusions of grandeur. But over time, [Roethlisberger] has matured and grown up,” Harrison said. “You don’t value the same things you did at 23 as you do at 30. Hell, I’m a different person at 47 than I was at 45. And I’m a far worse person at 40 than I was at 45.”

Roethlisberger has not publicly responded to Porter’s comments.

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Why a draft tournament would fix the tanking issue

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 12: Dallas Mavericks have officially won the in NBA Draft Lottery with 1.8% pre-lottery chance to win the pick in Chicago, Illinois, United States on May 12, 2025. San Antonio Spurs got the second pick, Philadelphia 76ers got 3rd and Charlotte Hornets got the 4th pick in the lottery. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Anadolu via Getty Images

It’s that time of year again. It’s tanking season. And it’s bigger and better than ever. There are seemingly more teams tanking than ever before, and they are doing it earlier and bolder and in more innovative ways. Everybody is talking about it, so why not Fear The Sword? There have been lots of crazy proposals to fix tanking thrown around. Even odds. Rookie free agency. The Wheel. 

Here’s one more: Let’s try just forcing teams to win games.

I know this sounds crazy, but I believe basketball is the most fun to watch when teams are trying to win. And I also believe that the answer to what is wrong with basketball is usually more basketball.

Here’s the proposal: 

• You hold an eight-team tournament before the playoffs to determine draft order.
• Lowest seeds gain entry, with the exception that every playoff team and play-in teams that reached the second round from last year are not eligible. No gap years. If one of those teams is at the bottom, take the next lowest seed.
• Just like the player awards season, if you don’t play, you can’t play. Let’s set a low bar and focus on the stretch run. If you haven’t played > 1,230 minutes (15 minutes per game all year) or > 15 mpg post-All-Star break, you’re out (this can be fine-tuned for role players, but you can see the point). No miraculous recoveries for the draft tournament allowed.
• Draft tournament winner gets the number one pick. Trades be damned.

That’s it. That’s the whole idea. Play basketball. Win. Get rewarded.

Why is this a good idea? Let’s break it down.

1. The Draft Lottery is the worst. There is no fixing it. We have this many teams tanking and piling picks because the draft is unreliable. Every time a San Antonio or a Philly gets lucky in the lottery, every time an Indiana takes a gap year, a team that has been tanking for years signs up for yet another year of tanking. The lottery is why we have so many teams tanking at once. It makes the draft unreliable. That’s bad. Not good.
2. The goal of a draft should not be to create middle-class citizens. It should not be to let the Chicago Bulls hang around near .500 forever. That isn’t parity. The goal should be to create contenders. The draft needs to help teams on the outside-looking-in become truly competitive. You can grow to Play-In status with picks five through 10 and shrewd acquisitions. It’s the leap that requires a top-four pick.
3. Even if teams figure out how to game the system and gain entry in nefarious ways, it’s largely a one-and-done scenario. They’ll do well, they’ll get a good pick, and they will graduate to a competitive level. That’s the goal. No tanking for half a decade or more.
4. The top-two picks landing in the worst situations is also the worst. What are our favorite stories? It’s rookie Kobe playing with Shaq. It’s rookie Tim Duncan playing with David Robinson. It’s Wemby being competitive *right now*. It is not Kevin Garnett dragging Sprewell to the Western Conference Finals or LeBron dragging Larry Hughes to the Finals before they inevitably leave the team that drafted them because they were too good for the team to build around them. The best-case scenario is that you get your second or third-best player, and then you get your generational talent. Not the other way around.
5. A draft tournament is still high variance. In a single-elimination format, anything can happen. You get that excitement. Whether your team is awful or your pre-season expectations are falling apart, you get that hope. And as a fan, you get to hope your team wins important ball games rather than hope they lose 75 meaningless ones.
6. It incentivizes teams to try to win. Think about what a draft tournament does to a rebuild cycle. Right now, when a team thinks they are close, they worry that if they get too good, too soon, then they might never get good enough. The entire young core could be wasted. They worry they should tank for one more high pick. With a draft tournament, you can go for it. You can try. You can bring in vets. Maybe you’re right, and you’re in the playoffs. Maybe you’re wrong, and you’re in the draft tournament with the best chance of winning it. Either way, the current core has a future.
7. It revitalizes the NBA middle class. No more player purgatory. No more players that are too good to tank with and not good enough to win with. These players instantly have value because even if they can’t help you win the NBA championship, they can help you win the draft tournament. Shout out to Georges Niang. Pay the Miini-van.

So that’s it. That’s the pitch. Structure everything so that in order to accomplish your goals, you have to win basketball games. Always.

And if you like that, just let me know. Because we can keep going with this concept. More tournaments, all with critical team-construction rewards. The rewards are the key. If the tournament helps a team build and helps a player get paid, everybody cares. Teams, GMs, players, fans. That adds value. That drives interest. That drives revenue. And that, ultimately, is the only way we ever get to shorten the regular season, which is what the sport truly needs. But that’s a story for another day.

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The hottest show in hockey, 'Heated Rivalry,' is embraced by fans and players at Winter Olympics

MILAN (AP) — Olympic hockey knows all about big hits.

That now includes " Heated Rivalry ” a gay hockey romance TV series in which two players from opposing teams carry out a secret, long-term relationship.

The steamy connection between the characters — Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov — has attracted fans to both the show and the sport itself, with the NHL seeing a boost in ticket sales by one estimate.

The show's impact was evident long before the Milan Cortina Olympics when co-stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie carried the Olympic flame. And it hasn’t stopped there. Athletes and fans from Canada and the U.S. are feeling the show’s impact.

Athletes recognize the phenomenon

Zach Werenski, a defenseman on the U.S. team who plays for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, said the show has come up in conversation in the locker room.

“Everyone is saying how great it is, I just haven’t seen it yet,” Werenski told The Associated Press after a 5-1 victory over Latvia. “It’s definitely good for the sport of hockey. Whenever you can add more eyes to the game and have people talk about the game and talk about inclusivity, I think it’s just great for the sport.”

Jake Sanderson, another U.S. defenseman who plays for the Ottawa Senators, said he has heard about the show, but doesn’t know much about it. When asked how far off the NHL is from having an openly gay player, Sanderson cited Luke Prokop. In 2021, Prokop was a Nashville Predators prospect who became the first player signed to an NHL contract to come out, though he has not yet played in the league.

“You never know if that show (will) instill some confidence in some people,” said Sanderson, adding that any openly gay player would be fully accepted in the locker room. “I don’t think we would treat them any differently. They’re our teammate, we love them no matter what, and obviously embrace them, absolutely.”

Rachel Reid’s novel “Heated Rivalry” was published in 2019 as part of a series. The TV adaptation, originally developed for Canadian streaming service Crave, was the top-rated series on HBO Max in its first season. It has been renewed for a second season.

Its biggest fans at the Olympics may be the Canadian delegation.

As part of the Olympic experience, athletes were gifted a potted plant. Many of the Canadians named theirs Shane or Ilya, according to the delegation's lead press liaison, Tara MacBournie.

Canadian Alpine skier Kiki Alexander took the love a bit further, sharing on her TikTok that the village’s Canadian moose has been named Shane.

“If you know, you know,” she wrote.

Adam van Koeverden, a 2004 Olympic champion in canoeing who is now Canada's secretary of state for sport, is a fan of the show.

“We’re the perfect country to be having the conversation and be putting that art out there that I think is advancing the conversation on diversity in hockey,” van Koeverden told AP at the Games. “Hockey is for everyone and ‘Heated Rivalry’ makes it clear."

The show launched in Europe in January and is proving a surprise hit in Russia, despite the country's anti-LGBTQ+ crackdowns. Because of the war in Ukraine, the IOC has allowed just a handful of Russian athletes to compete at the Milan Cortina Games as neutral individuals but no teams.

Fans of hockey and ‘Heated Rivalry’

Athletes aren’t the only ones riding the “Heated Rivalry” wave. Kim Sweet of Calgary, Alberta, is only on Episode 3 but is loving it.

“The show has me very intrigued,” Sweet, 50, said before entering the arena to watch Canada play Czechia last week. “How a very male-dominated sport has two guys having to work through the privacy of it all, and whether you ever want to come out.”

“It’s great having more eyes on the sport,” added Sweet, who describes herself as “a huge hockey fan."

Angie Campos, a California resident, was also in attendance and wearing a sweatshirt featuring the jerseys of the show's two main characters.

Campos is new to hockey, drawn to it by the series, and she isn't alone. Weekly NHL hockey ticket sales saw a more than 20% rise after the show first aired in late November, according to data from ticketing platform SeatGeek. It saw no similar surge the same period a year earlier.

“The series didn’t just light up social media feeds, it may have sent fans straight to hockey games themselves,” SeatGeek said in its analysis Jan. 16. “While it’s impossible to attribute all of this growth to a single show, the timing is hard to ignore.”

Campos likened her newfound fandom and that of fellow “Heated Rivalry” viewers to the surge of female NFL fans after Taylor Swift started dating Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce and attending games.

“It just makes it a little bit more relatable and it has definitely opened eyes to a human side of competition,” she said.

More representation in hockey

Hockey is a rough-and-tumble sport with occasional fighting and hard hits, even in crucial games where a penalty can prove costly. Canada’s Tom Wilson and French player Pierre Crinon were ejected for fighting in Canada's win on Sunday.

All the machismo and aggression make the rink — and hockey in general — an unlikely and provocative setting to explore the delicate feelings of forbidden love and taboos around male sexual orientation. No active NHL player has come out as gay in the century-plus existence of the league.

“Heated Rivalry” has been wildly popular among women, but men are starting to find the appeal.

At the Canada-France game, Christopher Ryan York, 20, said he has hopped on the bandwagon, too. It was hard not to watch the show given how popular it has become, he said, and he's happy it's creating new hockey fans.

“Anything to grow the sport, for sure,” he added.

His father Kevin York, 60, said he hasn't seen the show, but can’t stop hearing about it back home in Alberta and believes it must be truly inspirational if it spurred a Canadian hockey player to come out as gay: Jesse Kortuem of Vancouver, who stepped away from the game at 17 for fear he wouldn't be accepted, shared his coming-out statement on Instagram on Jan. 13.

“Something has sparked in me (ok — yes credit to #HeatedRivalry),” he wrote. “I thought I would share because I want to speak to the athletes out there who are still in the closet or struggling to find their way. I want you to know that there is hope and you’re not alone.”

___

Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Klint Kubiak: Fernando Mendoza has a bright future, I look forward to getting to know him

Two months before the 2026 NFL draft, everyone expects the Raiders to make Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the first overall pick. But right now, Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak says he doesn't know Mendoza well enough to say.

Although Kubiak said in an interview on the Raiders’ YouTube channel that he likes everything he's seen from Mendoza so far, what he's seen isn't much because Kubiak spent the last football season coordinating the Seahawks' offense, not watching college football.

"My exposure is very limited," Kubiak said. "I saw him play the national championship game, I saw the interviews he's given after those games and how team-oriented he is. I look forward to getting to know the player better, but obviously a really talented guy with a bright future. We'll see. We'll see where it ends up. But we've got a lot of work to do to get to know him before that time comes."

It's still possible that the Raiders will decide Mendoza isn't the right quarterback for Kubiak's offense, or that some team would blow the Raiders away with a trade offer for the No. 1 overall pick. But at this point, it appears highly likely that Kubiak will get to know Mendoza not just over the next two months, but for years to come as the two of them work together to turn the Raiders franchise around.

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