The sale of the Seattle Seahawks to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and his family passed through a pair of key committee votes Wednesday.
Owners who sit on the NFL’s finance and ownership policy committees voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the record-breaking $9.612 billion sale, Front Office Sports first reported.
With those votes out of the way, the sale is very likely to pass the final vote of team owners when they meet next Wednesday in Atlanta. At least 24 “yes” votes are required to approve the deal.
The Paul Allen estate, which inherited the NFL team after Allen’s death in 2018, agreed to terms with the Khosla family last month after a search for a new owner. Allen’s will stipulated that the team be sold and assets be distributed to various charities.
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 Seahawks are coming off their second Super Bowl win in franchise history, a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots last February.