May 2 might be the most important date this offseason for future of the Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are embarking on an extremely exciting offseason. Mind you, the offseason might not turn out to be a success. We will not know that for months or even a year. Was the hire of head coach Mike Macdonald a good one? We will not know the answer until into the 2025 season at least.

Some important dates of this offseason we already know. Geno Smith will have his base salary of $12.7 million guaranteed on February 16, for instance. His $9.6 million roster bonus is due March 18. If Seattle wants to move on from Smith they would likely do so as early as this Friday and as late as the 18th of March.

But May 2 is very likely the most significant date for the future of the Seattle Seahawks franchise. We know that Paul Allen wanted his Trust, which his sister, Jody Allen, is now the chairperson, sold after his death. This has not yet happened, of course, as there was no timeline for the sale. But Jody and the rest of the persons involved in the Trust have a great reason for not having sold the team yet.

Seattle Seahawks must be sold but will not be before May 2, 2024

That is because before May 2, 2024, the Trust would lose 10 percent of the sales if the team were sold. Paul Allen had a stipulation in the agreement with the state of Washington for the funding of what would become the Seahawks' new stadium, which we know now as Lumen Field, where if the team was sold before May 2 then the state would receive 10 percent of the sale. The most recent sale of an NFL was the Washington Commanders which were sold for $6.05 billion in 2023. 10 percent would be $605 million.

There is a good chance that the Seahawks would not be sold for as much as the Commanders were. Washington is an older franchise on the East Coast and would potentially have more interested buyers than Seattle. Still, Seattle is an NFL franchise, obviously, and people and companies are going to want to own the team. Even if the franchise sold for $5 billion (likely more) then the Trust would lose $500 million before May 2.

After May 2, Jody Allen and the Trust are free to sell the team and keep 100 percent of the price. Paul Allen wanted the team sold and it will be sold at some point, but Jody Allen also is not going to be an idiot in the business of selling the team. 10 percent of one dollar is not that much. But 10 percent of several billion is more than most of us could ever dream of seeing in our lifetimes. The real fun and speculation of who the next owner of the Seahawks can begin after May 2.

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