NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Seattle Seahawks for a league-record price of $9.612 billion to a group led by the Khosla family at a special meeting Wednesday in Atlanta.
The sale, which needed approval by at least 24 of 32 owners, was expected after the NFL’s finance and ownership policy committees voted unanimously last week to recommend ratification.
The estate of Paul G. Allen, which inherited the NFL team after Allen’s death in 2018, agreed to terms with the Khosla family on July 11 after a search for a new owner. Allen’s will stipulated that the team be sold and assets be distributed to various charities.
Vinod Khosla, 71, is a venture capitalist and a limited partner of the San Francisco 49ers — buying 3.1% of the franchise in 2025 at a more than $8.5 billion valuation, per ESPN. He will have to relinquish his stake in that team as part of the agreement to buy the Seahawks, as the transaction could close before the defending Super Bowl champions open the season Sept. 9 against the New England Patriots, the team they defeated 29-13 last February for the title.
“How often do you get to buy a franchise that just won the Super Bowl?” Khosla said Wednesday, standing with his co-owners, wife Neeru and son Neal Khosla. “We are incredibly lucky and humbled by this gift, I would say, from the Allen trust.”
The price tag is an NFL record for a franchise sale. It is the second-highest valuation in North American sports history; the Los Angeles Lakers sold for $10 billion last year and were more recently valued at $12.5 billion as Bob Iger and Josh Kushner plan to purchase a majority stake in the NBA team from Mark Walter.
The Washington Commanders were sold for approximately $6.05 billion in 2023 to a group headed by Josh Harris.
Vinod Khosla is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and founder of Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm. Neeru Khosla, who also was born in India and met Vinod when they were children, per The Athletic, will be the controlling owner. Their son, Neal, is expected to have a major role in the organization, per The Athletic.
“The task ahead is actually pretty simple,” Vinod Khosla said after the vote. “Keep the winning streak alive. Get another Super Bowl. That’s simple. In general, our approach is generally going to be long-term focused. That’s our inclination always. So keep winning, take a long-term approach, and learn a lot.”
Paul Allen bought the Seahawks for $194 million from then-owner Ken Behring in 1997 and helped keep the team in Seattle. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, also owned the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, with his sister Jody Allen assuming duties as owner for the estate.
A group led by Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, finalized the acquisition of the Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul Allen for $4.25 billion on March 31. The Dundon group vowed to keep the team in Portland as a condition of the sale.