Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are reportedly interested in bidding for the Seattle Seahawks, which are officially up for sale following their Super Bowl victory. The bidding process for the franchise has begun.
Key points
Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are interested in buying the Seahawks
The Seahawks are officially up for sale
The bidding process for the franchise has begun
The Seahawks won Super Bowl 60 before going on sale
The reigning Super Bowl champions could wind up with a big name involved in their new ownership.
Not long after taking down the Patriots in Super Bowl 60, the Seattle Seahawks officially went up for sale, with the process of the franchise's bidding now underway.
On Thursday, Front Office Sports reported that two well-known businessmen have expressed interest in becoming buyers of the Seahawks: Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook.
Here's what to know about the Meta founder and Apple CEO's interest in buying the Seahawks.
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
Why Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are reportedly considering bids to buy Seahawks
NFL ownership bidding can be a long process, meaning nothing is guaranteed â but as of Thursday, Front Office Sports reported that four potential majority buyers have "expressed interest" in the Seahawks' sale, including Zuckerberg and Cook, with the other two interested buyers not yet known.
Zuckerberg, the chairman and CEO of Meta and Facebook, is reportedly "considering a bid," per Front Office Sports, while Cook, who recently announced he will step down as Apple's CEO and become EVP of the companyâs board of directors, is reportedly "separately weighing an offer."
However, Puck's Dylan Byers also refuted that report, writing that "Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are not considering bids for the Seattle Seahawks." Byers added that Zuckerberg "may be invested in a fund that's putting forward a bid," and he would "assume [the] same [is] true for Tim Cook."
It remains unknown whether any formal bids for the Seahawks have been made. However, the franchise was officially put up for sale on Feb. 18, just days after securing a Super Bowl title, the second in team history. Seattle selling its franchise was known to be in the plans at some point â late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen "mandated the eventual sale of his sports holdings" before his 2018 death, per Front Office Sports, which included the Seahawks and the Trail Blazers of the NBA. In March, the Trail Blazers were officially sold to a group led by Tom Dundon for a price around $4.25 billion.
A formal Seahawks sale, when it happens, will have to be voted upon by NFL owners with three-fourths approval.
Seattle's NFL squad is expected to be sold for anywhere in the $8 billion to $10 billion range, per FOS, also expected to surpass the Washington Commanders' 2023 sale at $6.05 billion. Allen & Co. is the bank that will be running the Seahawks' sale process.
With Zuckerberg being from White Plains, New York, it's unclear if he has any personal ties to the Seahawks' organization â but considering his net worth, he may just have an interest in general NFL ownership.
Zuckerberg has an estimated net worth of $208.7 billion, per Forbes, which makes him the fifth-wealthiest person in the world. That's also more than enough for Zuckerberg to easily become the majority owner of the Seahawks without outside help.
Cook has a bit of a more apparent connection to the Seahawks â while he is from Alabama, he was in attendance for Super Bowl 60 in February as Seattle hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
Cook has an estimated net worth of $2.9 billion, per Forbes, which means he would likely be part of some kind of ownership group if he were involved with buying the Seahawks.
