The secretive sale of the Seattle Seahawks might soon be less of a mystery.
Via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Bloomberg News reported on Monday that the first round of bids were due today, June 29.
Three groups previously had been identified. They are, as summarized by Condotta: a group led by Wyc Grousbeck and Aditya Mittal, who are alternate governors of the Boston Celtics; a group led by Vinod Khosla, a minority owner of the San Francisco Giants; and a group led by billionaire Todd Boehly, who owns a piece of the L.A. Lakers and who serves as chairman and owner of the Chelsea Football Club.
The Seahawks have been owned by Jody Allen since the passing of her brother, Paul, in 2018. Prior to Super Bowl LX, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Seahawks had been fined $5 million for failing to comply with the NFL’s ownership requirements. The NFL insisted that no fine was imposed.
As PFT reported at the time, the league agreed to withhold the fine in exchange for a commitment to sell the team, in compliance with the directives of Paul Allen’s trust. The franchise was then put up for sale after the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX
In February, the final price was expected to fall in the range of $9 billion to $11 billion. Then came a report of a soft market. Not long after that, it was reported that the market had picked up.
PFT reported earlier this month that signs continue to point to a deal being done before the start of the 2026 regular season.
Regardless of how long it takes to finish the process, today is the day to put up or shut up.
Seahawks Clips
In 2025, the NFL began outfitting the jerseys of the prior year’s award winners with gold shields. This year, a pair of Rams will be wearing them.
The gold shields go to the reigning NFL MVP, the offensive player of the year, the defensive player of the year, the offensive rookie of the year, and the defensive rookie of the year.
This year, the five awards that will be acknowledged with gold shields were won by Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (MVP), Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njgiba (OPOY), then-Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (DPOY), Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan (OROY), and Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger (DROY).
With Garrett being traded to the Rams, L.A. will have both Stafford and Garrett wearing the gold shields. (If Garrett hadn’t been traded, the 5-12 Browns would have two defensive players wearing gold shield).
The gold shields are hard to notice, since the shield on each jersey is small. The issue landed caught our eye on a slow Sunday because the Seahawks have posted an image of Smith-Njigba in his new jersey.
And, no, Smith-Njigba’s gold shield doesn’t have a typo.
If you’re confused by how the World Cup works, join the club.
We’ve finally made sense of how 48 teams became the 32 that will now proceed to the single-elimination knockout round. Of the 12 four-team groups, the top two made it, along with the best eight third-place teams.
Along the way, Iran was in after a goal by Algeria against Austria in stoppage time on Saturday night — and then out after Austria scored in the final seconds to force a 3-3 tie.
For the United States, here’s the path to what would be an unexpected but thrilling run to the final match.
On Wednesday, July 1, the U.S. plays Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. A win would put the U.S. team into the round of 16, facing the winner of Belgium and Senegal. That match will happen on Monday, July 6 at Lumen Field in Seattle.
A win there would send the U.S. to the final eight. The opponent for the match to be played on Friday, July 10, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles would be the team that emerges from this quartet of countries: Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Austria.
Next up would be a trip to the semifinals, on Tuesday, July 14, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Then, a victory would trigger a berth in the final game, to be played on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It won’t be easy. It will require four straight wins, starting in just three days, with the site of Super Bowl LX hosting one of the most consequential soccer matches the U.S. has ever seen.
A win would raise the stakes considerably in the home stadium of the defending Super Bowl champions. A victory there would shift the focus to the site of Super Bowl LXI. Then, all eyes would turn to Jerry World — for a match at a level his Cowboys haven’t achieved since the year after the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup.
Winning the Super Bowl was the crowning achievement of Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s career, but that doesn’t mean he was happy with the way he played.
Darnold said on Bussin’ With The Boys that while his team got the win, he doesn’t think he was a major contributor to it, and he wishes he would have turned in a better performance on the game’s biggest stage.
“I didn’t play great in the Super Bowl.” Darnold said. “I missed way too many throws. We still won, our defense balled out, and I didn’t turn the ball over, which helped. But dude, to win the Super Bowl that way, I was kinda bummed. I want to score like 40 points, you know what I mean? I want to go out there and ball out, and it’s just, dang, I didn’t play my best football in the Super Bowl? That sucks.”
Darnold said he was kicking himself for plays that included missing an open Jaxon Smith-Njibga early in the game for what could have been a touchdown pass, failing to deliver on a potentially big deep ball to Rashid Shaheed, and misconnecting on what should have been an easy out route to Cooper Kupp.
“How am I gonna miss these throws right now? Are you kidding me?” Darnold said. “I was like, How the fuck did I miss that?”
Darnold wasn’t terrible in the Super Bowl, more like mediocre: He completed 19 of 38 passes for 202 yards, with one touchdown, one sack and no turnovers. On a day when running back Kenneth Walker turned in an MVP performance and the Seahawks’ defense shut down Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, a mediocre performance was enough for Darnold to earn a Super Bowl ring. But he would have liked to be better.
Before Sam Darnold starred at quarterback for the Vikings and won Super Bowl LX with the Seahawks, he spent a year as the 49ers’ backup to Brock Purdy.
That 2023 season spent with San Francisco was critical for Darnold’s development.
Darnold went into that season having spent his first three seasons with the Jets before two seasons with the Panthers. And while Darnold did not play much — he started an inconsequential Week 18 game against the Carson Wentz-led Rams — he said in a recent interview that he picked up a lot from his time in the Bay Area.
“I think for me, it was … looking at myself in the mirror and just being like, ‘alright, this is what I need to do this year. I’m not going to get an opportunity to get a starter,’” Darnold said during an appearance in Tuesday’s episode of Bussin’ with the Boys. “And I think going to San Francisco, I mean, shoot, you guys saw what Mac Jones did this year. I understood that quarterbacks in that system, quarterbacks with Kyle [Shanahan] — you look at Brock [Purdy] and all the success he’s had there — quarterbacks just thrive in that system. It’s also because they have really good players.
“But, just getting to know that system and getting to know those coaches, like that’s really why I decided to be a backup in San Francisco. I thought that would be the best place to just go. And people say it all the time, and I’ve heard it, but I feel like I got my PhD in football when I went to San Francisco.”
Darnold credited the 49ers’ coaching staff, led by Shanahan, for part of his growth. But he also noted that watching the high-caliber players around him made a significant difference.
“I’ve talked about learning from Brock quite a bit,” Darnold said. “But all the great players that are over there. — friend of the program George Kittle, Fred Warner, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams of course — you just have all these studs who are over there. And to just learn their habits and stuff that they do in the offseason, how they get better, it was just such a great opportunity for me to just go there and be a sponge, and just learn so much football. Learn how to take care of my body off the field.”
But it was Purdy who really made a difference, in large part due to the way he presented alternative preparation methods.
“I can’t mention Brock enough,” Darnold said. “But just the way that he prepared really showed me how to really prepare, because you don’t know what you don’t know. And I think for me, being able to go there and see how efficient he was — because you can put a ton of time in, but you can be doing it the wrong way. And he was so efficient with his time. And he would cut out three or four hours of studying throughout the night because our game plans were crazy. …The system is so intricate.
“But that was so fun. It was so fun to go learn football there. And I’m so thankful for that opportunity that I got in San Francisco.”
Since that time with the 49ers, Darnold has won 14 games in each of the last two seasons for Minnesota and Seattle. In 2025, he completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 4,048 yards with 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In the postseason, he completed 61.5 percent of his throws for 672 yard with five TDs and no picks to earn his first Super Bowl ring.
The offseason programs around the league have largely wrapped up for 2026, with players and coaches around the league now experiencing some time off.
But training camps are just a few weeks away from opening.
The NFL announced the camp report dates for all 32 teams on Monday, with the first ones opening up in less than a month.
Below are the camp locations and report dates:
Arizona Cardinals: State Farm Stadium | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans 7/22
Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta Falcons Training Facility | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Baltimore Ravens: Under Armour Performance Center | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Buffalo Bills: St. John Fisher University | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Carolina Panthers: Bank of America Stadium | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/22
Chicago Bears: Halas Hall | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cincinnati Bengals: Paycor Stadium | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cleveland Browns: CrossCountry Mortgage Campus | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Dallas Cowboys: Marriott Residence Inn Oxnard | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Denver Broncos: Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans: 7/28
Detroit Lions: Meijer Performance Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Green Bay Packers: Lambeau Field | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Houston Texans: Houston Methodist Training Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Indianapolis Colts: Grand Park | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Jacksonville Jaguars: Miller Electric Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Kansas City Chiefs: Missouri Western State University | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Las Vegas Raiders: Intermountain Health Performance Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Chargers: The Bolt | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Rams: Loyola Marymount University | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/25
Miami Dolphins: Baptist Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Minnesota Vikings: TCO Performance Center | Rookies: 7/26 | Veterans: 7/28
New England Patriots: New Balance Athletics Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/24
New Orleans Saints: Ochsner Sports Performance Center | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Giants: Quest Diagnostics Training Center/The Greenbrier | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Jets: Athletic Health Jets Training Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Philadelphia Eagles: Jefferson Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Pittsburgh Steelers: Saint Vincent College | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
San Francisco 49ers: SAP Performance Facility | Rookies: 7/18 | Veterans: 7/25
Seattle Seahawks: Virginia Mason Athletic Center | Rookies: 7/17 | Veterans: 7/24
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: AdventHealth Training Center | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Tennessee Titans: Vanderbilt Health Football Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Washington Commanders: Commanders Park | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
The NFL has announced the full list of joint practices that will take place during training camps this summer.
The first set of them will take place on August 11 in four different locations. The Cowboys and Rams will practice in Los Angeles, the Colts will visit the Patriots, the Bucs will work out at the Jets’ facility and the Titans will go to Santa Clara to practice with the 49ers.
All in all, there will be 28 teams working in joint sessions in August. The Lions, Steelers, Chiefs and Broncos are the teams that will not hold joint practices.
The full list of joint practices is below with the host team listed second. If there are multiple practices scheduled, the date of the first practice is listed.
August 11 — Cowboys-Rams; Colts-Patriots; Buccaneers-Jets; Titans-49ers.
August 12 — Dolphins-Commanders.
August 13 — Jaguars-Saints.
August 18 — 49ers-Chargers; Raiders-Texans; Saints-Cowboys.
August 19 — Falcons-Colts; Ravens-Vikings; Panthers-Jaguars; Eagles-Patriots.
August 20 — Bills-Browns; Bears-Bengals; Saints-Rams; Giants-Dolphins.
August 21 — Seahawks-Titans.
August 25 — Buccaneers-Jaguars.
August 26 — Cardinals-Packers; Texans-Panthers; Commanders-Ravens.
August 27 — Bears-Titans.
Police reportedly have investigation an assault allegation against Jets quarterback Geno Smith.
The incident emerged over the weekend, with a woman named “Kristen” claiming that Smith “beat my ass” in a video posted on social media. The 85-second clip includes multiple images of Smith. At the end, he’s speaking to police officers.
TMZ says the situation is currently under review. Andy Slater of Fox Sports South Florida reports that the case has already been closed.
Via the California Post, a spokesperson for the Davie, Florida police department said officers arrived at Smith’s residence at 4:40 p.m. ET on Sunday. The spokesperson said no one was taken into custody at the scene.
The Jets declined comment to the Post. Smith has not yet addressed the matter.
Smith was a second-round pick of the Jets in 2013. He played for the Jets through 2015. After stints with the Giants, Chargers, Seahawks, and Raiders, the Jets brought Smith back earlier this year in trade with Las Vegas. Smith, who has 98 regular-season starts in 12 NFL seasons, is expected to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2026.
Suddenly, soccer sells.
Friday afternoon’s match between the United States and Australia from Lumen Field in Seattle generated a combined audience of more than 20.68 million on Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock.
Fox announced preliminary viewership of 14.781 million for the match that began at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday. According to NBC, the Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo and Peacock averaged 5.9 million.
Both numbers are preliminary. The official numbers likely will be higher.
Via Matt Clapp of Awful Announcing, the Fox broadcast was the most-watched show on a Friday afternoon since the U.S. faced England in the 2022 World Cup. That match averaged 15.38 million viewers.
The audience for U.S. vs. Australia on Fox peaked from 4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, with 19.169 million. That’s more than the 18.86 million peak for the U.S. vs. Paraguay, which had a higher total average on Fox, at 18.037 million.
The U.S. finishes group play on Thursday, June 25, against Turkey. The match starts at 10:00 p.m. ET. With the U.S. already clinching the group crown (and with Turkey eliminated), the match is essentially a friendly. (Or, as they call it in soccer, a “dead rubber.”)
Marshawn Lynch is a man of many talents.
The former NFL running back was back in his old stomping grounds in Seattle on Friday, working as a credentialed photographer at the World Cup match between the United States and Australia.
Lynch, who rushed for 10,413 yards in his NFL career and was a key piece of teams that went to two Super Bowls and won one, has had an eclectic post-football experience.
He has acted. He has worked for Prime Video. He’s a minority owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.
More recently, he has become a photographer.
Still only 40, Lynch probably has more than a few things he’ll eventually do.
