In 1997, Ken Behring owned the team. Allen was considering buying it, but only if the public would approve a new stadium in a vote later that year. Behring agreed to draft Jones under one condition: Allen had to pay for him even though he didn’t own the team yet.
The Seahawks almost didn’t draft Walter Jones because of money — until Paul Allen stepped in.
Walter Jones almost wasn’t a Seahawk, which is crazy because A) Walter Jones is in the Hall of Fame as a Seahawk, and B) he might be the best player in the team’s 40-year history.