Seahawks might not be available until 2025, at the earliest

The Seahawks eventually will be sold. No one knows what eventually means.

Team owner Paul Allen died five years ago this coming Sunday, October 15. His estate calls for many of his assets (including his sports teams) to be sold, with the proceeds going to his charitable causes.

But there's no timeline for doing so. For any sale accomplished before May 2024, 10 percent of the proceeds must go to the state of Washington, as part of the deal that funded the team's current stadium. Still, there's no specific trigger for selling the team before or after that date.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that a sale is not expected until 2025, at the earliest. Paul Allen's sister, Jody, can wait until then or later. If the goal is to maximize the return, and given that the value of franchises keeps going up and up, patience will result in even more revenue for the charities supported by Paul Allen's estate plan.

Here's an important reason to wait. As recently explained, the league's current exploration of changes to the ownership rules could help drive up sales prices. So why not let that play out? If the NFL will be relaxing certain aspects that are making it harder to get maximum bidders and, in turn, maximum value, why not wait for the league to devise and implement those revisions?

While the eventual recipients of Paul Allen's benevolence might like to get the money sooner than later, they have no way to force the issue. Besides, they'll likely get a lot more later.