PORTLAND, Ore. — Paul Allen's estate announced Tuesday that it has begun the process of selling the Portland Trail Blazers.
The sale of the team is ''consistent with Allen's directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all estate proceeds to philanthropy,'' the Trail Blazers said in a statement.
Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, died in 2018 at age 65 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since then, his sister, Jody Allen, has served as chair of the Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust.
The estate said it has hired the New York investment firm Allen & Company and the law firm Hogan Lovells to lead the sales process, ''which is estimated to continue into the 2025-26 basketball season.''
The team noted in its announcement that the NBA Board of Governors must ratify any final purchase agreement.
In addition to the Trail Blazers and Seahawks, Allen was a co-owner of Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders. The statement said the announcement does not impact the Seahawks or the estate's 25% interest in the Sounders. Neither of those teams is for sale.
Allen bought the Trail Blazers in 1988, telling the The Associated Press at the time that ''for a true fan of the game, this is a dream come true.''
Since his death, there has been widespread speculation surrounding the future ownership of both the Seahawks and Trail Blazers. Allen stipulated in his will the eventual sale of both teams, with the proceeds given to philanthropic endeavors.
