Bidding on a Southern Sports Mansion: Huntsville, Ala., Estate of NFL Hall of Famer Walter Jones

The Huntsville, Ala., estate of NFL Hall of Famer Walter Jones is about to be sold through an online auction. Sprawling, two-story, eight-bedroom estate features full-length football field, six-car garage and much more.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former Seattle Seahawks superstar and first-ballot NFL Hall-of-Famer Walter Jones is using an online auction to sell his Southern Sports Mansion in Huntsville, Ala. The 13,000-plus square foot, eight-bedroom estate on more than 14 acres is being sold by Interluxe, a Charlotte-based, luxury real estate online auction firm. 

The executives at Interluxe have been selling multi-million dollar properties with auction marketing since 1999.

The online auction begins Monday, June 27th at 9 AM and ends Tuesday, June 28^th at 5 PM. Prospective bidders may preview the estate in person Friday through Sunday, June 24-26. The listing agents are Kathy and Ron Tyra of Re/Max Alliance.  https://www.interluxe.com/12453

The Tyra team said they believe in the auction model as a means of generating excitement to sell property. “We enjoy having the Interluxe tool to create interest and focus on a specific property,” said Ron Tyra. “It’s is great use of our resources. Most clients would want a property pretty much guaranteed to sell within 60 days.”

The Seattle Seahawks traded up in the 1997 NFL Draft to select Jones, an offensive tackle out of Florida State, as the sixth overall pick. The move paid off over the next 12 seasons as Jones solidified himself as the cornerstone of the Seahawks offensive line. Following the 1999 season, Jones received the first of a team-record nine career All-Star nods. His team-record 10 playoff game starts included Super Bowl XL in 2005. Jones was a first-team selection of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, and a first-ballot NFL Hall of Fame inductee in 2014.

Now living in Seattle with his children, Jones said Huntsville is simply too far to travel regularly to enjoy his home of leisure. He said as his kids are growing up, their lifestyles have become far more active.   

“We love this house, but we now live in Seattle,” said Jones, an Alabama native who has performed numerous humanitarian deeds in the Huntsville community. “My kids are getting older and are involved in many different activities. It’s become more difficult for my family to travel cross-country to enjoy this sportsman’s paradise.”

A sportsman’s paradise this sprawling, gated, two-story estate with a six-car garage truly is. A long and winding entryway leads to the ultimate in luxury, including a regulation-sized football field, basketball court, tennis court, home theatre, game room, workout room, in-ground pool and pool house, and a guesthouse. 

The estate was custom built from the ground up, with every meticulous detail considered. The spectacular foyer features a curved granite staircase with an elevator separating the living and entertaining areas from secluded bedrooms — all with private baths and walk-in closets. This luxurious smart home features AMX Home Integration System with touch panels and keypad control lighting. The professionally landscaped grounds include walking trails and gazebos. 

The home is well suited for training facilities, sports camp, corporate retreat, bed and breakfast, spa or other commercial ventures. Given its secluded yet convenient location, just minutes from major shopping and restaurants in Huntsville Ala. — 15 minutes to the Huntsville International Airport and centrally located to Nashville, Tenn., Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta, Ga. — this South Central location can’t be beat. 

Jones said he believes in the auction model as a means of generating excitement to sell his property. He feels empowered by having the liberty to take advantage of executing an intensive marketing and advertising campaign to capture the greatest amount of interest possible, so that buyers will compete for ownership.

“My kids and I have loved living here,” said Jones. “We played football, basketball and tennis, and we would swim in the pool and watch movies. It’s a real heartache for me to sell such an amazing place, but I know now is the time because I now live on the other side of the country and it’s too difficult to travel back and forth, particularly as busy as my kids are.” 

Jones said even if the auction doesn’t yield the price he believes his estate is worth, “I guess someone’s going to get a heck of a deal.” 

Scott Kirk, president of Interluxe, said online auctions are becoming extremely popular as an alternative method of moving property in a timely fashion, creating an urgency that benefits both sellers and buyers. “The bidders feel good about auctions because ultimately they get to pay a value that they see as appropriate, and it helps demonstrate what the market sees the property being worth,” he said.

“We feel that when a seller uses the auction model, they have a sincere interest and true willingness to accept the reality of the marketplace. It’s an opportunity for the seller to achieve maximum market value, through competition and bidding, and it’s an opportunity for a buyer to know that they are not overpaying or under bidding.”

Online auctions offer savvy buyers, sellers and agents an unparalleled opportunity for real estate success, and can be a rewarding way to search, compare, bid, and close on a luxury property. There is no negotiating, no counter-offers, and no long, interminable process. Prospective buyers can bid from work, home, or even their mobile devices. Every prospective bidder is required to fulfill the same pre-auction obligations and has access to the same pool of information. The closing date and contract terms are all known in advance for peace of mind and planning.

Auctions can bring a higher price, and an online auction can draw buyers from around the world with the right kind of marketing. Interluxe’s area of expertise is attracting buyers and creating urgency for a property to be sold in a time-sensitive capacity, understanding that the sellers are looking for the very best price that the market can bear. Interluxe works in cooperation with real estate agents, using an entirely online format to connect discriminating buyers and sellers. 

For additional information about the upcoming online auction of NFL Hall-of-Famer Walter Jones’s Southern Sportsman’s Paradise, visit www.interluxe.com.