Paul Allen — owner of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers — died on Monday in Seattle. He was 65.
In a statement, his family said Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Allen was originally diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1982, and in 2009, underwent chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Although it had been in remission for years, two weeks ago, Allen announced that the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma had returned, and expressed optimism in his ability to beat the disease.
Most owners of professional sports franchises are relatively unknown individuals who become well-known only when they first purchase their teams.