For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Seattle Seahawks will have a new owner. The franchise announced on Saturday that it will be sold to a group led by Vinod Khosla, who presently holds a minority stake in the San Francisco 49ers. The total sale price is expected to be $9.6 billion, the highest price ever paid for an NFL franchise.
Khosla will need to divest his 49ers stake before he can be officially confirmed as the new owner of the Seahawks, but that will be a formality if the sale is approved. The NFL's other 31 owners will vote on the deal as early as Aug. 26, according to ESPN.
Multiple members of the Khosla family will be part of the new ownership group with his wife, Neeru, serving as the primary decision maker. His son, Neal, will also have a role with the team, according to a memo sent out to the NFL's franchises on Saturday night.
"The Khosla family includes Neeru Khosla, who would serve as the controlling owner, Vinod Khosla, and their son Neal Khosla. Neal would be expected to have a significant leadership role in the ownership group."
Vinod, who has a net worth of $13.7 billion (per Forbes), made his fortune as a tech investor and co-founder of Sun Microsystems. He currently runs his own venture capital firm, Khosla Ventures. Neeru is an educator and entrepreneur, and Neal is CEO of Curai, an AI healthcare company.
"We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks. We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere," Vinod Khosla said in a statement.
The Seahawks had been owned by the estate of Paul Allen since he purchased the team for $194 million in 1997.
If Allen had not bought the Seahawks, the team could have ended up in Southern California as a move to Anaheim was all but a done deal before Allen stepped in. The Microsoft co-founder owned the team until his death in 2018. His estate took ownership, and his sister, Jody, has served as the controlling owner ever since.
In her final season running the team, Jody watched the Seahawks win the second Super Bowl in franchise history, 29-13 over the New England Patriots in February. The Seahawks actually beat Khosla's 49ers in the Divisional Round on their way to taking home the Lombardi Trophy.
One unique aspect of this sale is that most of the $9.6 billion purchase price is expected to go to charity. Allen's will stipulated that the Seahawks would eventually have to be sold with the proceeds being donated to multiple charities. Most of the money will be earmarked for the Paul G. Allen Foundation, according to the NFL.
The $9.6 billion purchase price is not only the highest in NFL history, it is 59% higher than the previous record of $6.05 billion, which was set in July 2023 when Josh Harris purchased the Washington Commanders.
