Why billionaire Jody Allen plans to sell the Seattle Seahawks and donate the proceeds to charity

That appearance on the Super Bowl winner’s stage, though, is likely to be Allen’s last, as the team is reportedly up for sale, according to sources who spoke with ESPN last week. Her status as a billionaire entrusted with spending down a billionaire’s fortune, and now a victorious Super Bowl winner eyeing a near-immediate exit from the field, makes her one of the most unusual figures in American sports. 

The 67-year-old is the chair and trustee of the Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers with ownership over both passing to her after the 2018 death of her brother, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, after a battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The longtime owner of the Pacific Northwest sports franchises, was worth roughly $20 billion at the time of his death, and was widely credited with revitalizing the Seahawks and keeping them in his hometown of Seattle. He also left behind no spouse or children.

Despite her appearance Sunday in front of more than 120 million Super Bowl viewers, Allen maintains a low profile, keeping her head down to focus on philanthropic ventures. She has led transformative charitable measures at the helm of her and her brother’s organization, dedicated to funding the arts, education, and the environment.

Jody Allen has not yet confirmed the sale of the Seahawks, which her brother purchased for $197 million in 1997. But Paul Allen’s will stipulated that his assets—including the Seahawks, the NBA’s Trail Blazers, and a 25% stake in the MLS’s Seattle Sounders— be sold to fund his charitable foundations. The Allen estate started to fulfill those wishes last September, entering a formal agreement to sell the Trail Blazers for an estimated $4 billion. 

A spokesperson from Paul Allen’s estate told Fortune the Seahawks are not for sale, but noted that “that will change at some point.”

A commitment to charity

Allen has overseen over $1 billion in charitable efforts since she cofounded Allen Family Philanthropies, formerly the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, with her brother in 1988 at age 29. Last month, the organization dedicated $8 million to national conservation projects, including donations to the Nature Conservancy and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. 

Many of Allen’s donations target national initiatives flow through the Pacific Northwest, where Allen and her late brother grew up together. Last November, Allen’s philanthropic organization donated nearly $7 million to nonprofits in Seattle dedicated to bolstering emerging artists. That followed a series of charitable gifts to the Pacific Northwest focused on the arts and revitalizing the region’s climate.

Throughout the years, Allen has worn many hats within several arts and science foundations that she and her brother founded. For instance, she serves as founding director of Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, and she’s the cofounder and chair of a Seattle-based bioscience research nonprofit, the Allen Institute.

A focus on winning

While Allen has played a pivotal role in her brother’s philanthropy arm, she has also remained razor-focused on winning as owner of the Seahawks and Trail Blazers. Following the end of the 2023 season, Allen announced an “amicable” decision that longtime head coach Pete Carroll would step down, a move that elevated John Schneider to general manager, who then hired Mike Macdonald to succeed Carroll as head coach. Macdonald has led the team to a total of 27 wins during his two seasons as coach, culminating in Sunday’s Super Bowl win.

“Pete is the winningest coach in Seahawks history, brought the city its first Super Bowl title, and created a tremendous impact over the past 14 years on the field and in the community,” Allen said in a 2024 press release.

In 2022, Allen addressed the potential sale of the Trail Blazers and Seahawks, shaking off rumors and instead, redirecting attention to her commitment to victory.

“Estates of this size and complexity can take 10 to 20 years to wind down,” Allen said in the press release. “There is no preordained timeline by which the teams must be sold. Until then, my focus—and that of our teams—is on winning.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story characterized Allen Family Philanthropies as a part of Vale Group. The two entities are separate and distinct.