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Essentials Inside The Story

  • Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook among potential bidders for the Seattle Seahawks
  • The Seahawks expected to set a new financial benchmark for professional sports franchises
  • Experts predict the Seahawks will fetch between $8 billion and $10 billion

It’s been over a couple of months since the Seattle Seahawks were put up for sale, 10 days after winning Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots. Since then, multiple suitors have been linked to the two-time Super Bowl champions. On Thursday, Front Office Sports added another layer to the situation.

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Per the report, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook, who recently stepped down as Apple’s CEO and is now EVP of the company’s board of directors, are among the potential bidders for the Seahawks, alongside two other unnamed groups.

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“Five sources familiar with the matter tell Front Office Sports they’ve heard Zuckerberg is considering a bid, while four say Cook is separately weighing an offer. The identities of the other two potential bidders were not clear, nor was it known whether any formal offers had been made,” Ben Horney of Front Office Sports wrote on Thursday.

But within hours, that narrative shifted. A Bloomberg report pushed back, reporting that neither Zuckerberg nor Cook had any plans to pursue the team. Kurt Wagner reported:

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“Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook aren’t planning to bid for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. Reports surfaced Thursday linking the two tech titans to the National Football League team, which is currently up for sale and expected to fetch a price that could surpass $10 billion. But Zuckerberg, Meta Platform Inc.’s chief executive officer, and Apple Inc. Cook aren’t interested in buying the football team, which won the league championship in February’s Super Bowl.”

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The pushback first came from Puck’s Dylan Byers, who disputed the Front Office Sports report. In a social media post, while resharing Front Office Sports’ original X post, Byers wrote:

“This isn’t true. Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are not considering bids for the Seattle Seahawks, per sources close to both men. Period, full stop.”

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That left the situation in a strange spot, with conflicting reports. According to Forbes, Cook’s net worth sits around $2.9 billion, while Zuckerberg’s is estimated at $206 billion. Despite that, clarity is still missing. Front Office Sports also noted that representatives for both Meta and Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

So for now, it’s a wait-and-see situation. Whether this was early noise or something more serious behind the scenes is still unclear. What does seem certain is that the Seahawks are expected to command a massive valuation as the sale process continues.

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The Seahawks are reportedly eyeing to surpass the Commanders’ record

The planned sale of the Seahawks aligns with the wishes of the late Paul Allen, who had directed that his sports holdings eventually be sold following his passing in 2018. The franchise was put up for sale on February 18, just 10 days after winning Super Bowl LX. Any deal will require approval from NFL owners, with at least three-fourths needed to finalize a sale.

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That naturally raises the question of what valuation the Seahawks could command. The most recent benchmark came in 2023, when former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder sold the franchise to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion. Since then, minority stake sales have pushed valuations even higher across the league.

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In September 2025, the New York Giants sold a 10% stake to Julia Koch and her family at a $10 billion valuation. Then, in March 2026, the Miami Dolphins sold a 1% stake to Bin Lin, the co-founder and vice chairman of Xiaomi, at a reported $12.5 billion valuation.

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For Seattle, projections vary. Some estimates suggest the franchise could clear $10 billion, while others place it closer to $8 billion. Either way, the expectation is that the final number will surpass the Commanders’ record sale. Whether that deal ultimately involves Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, or another bidder remains to be seen.

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Written by

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Keshav Pareek

2,104 Articles

Keshav Pareek is a Senior NFL Features Writer at EssentiallySports, where he has covered two action-packed football seasons. He also contributes to the ES Behind the Scenes series, spotlighting the lives of top NFL stars off the field. Keshav is known for weaving humor into serious sports writing and connecting with readers by tapping into the emotional heart of the game.

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Antra Koul

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