NFL owners have unanimously approved the $9.6 billion sale of the Seattle Seahawks, moving the Super Bowl champions a step closer to new ownership. The sale, agreed upon last month by a group of investors led by Indian billionaire Vinod Khosla, received the necessary approval from league owners this week.
The transaction will transfer ownership from the Paul G. Allen Estate to the Khosla-led group, with the deal expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. This marks the end of the Allen family's 29-year stewardship of the team.
The $9.6 billion price tag sets a new record for an NFL team sale. This figure surpasses the previous records set in recent years: the Denver Broncos were sold for $4.6 billion in 2022, and the Washington Commanders were sold for $6 billion in 2023. For context, the recent $12.5 billion sale of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers ranks as the highest among all major sports leagues.
According to a memo sent to NFL teams in July, the Estate of Paul Allen reached an agreement with the Khosla family and several limited partners following a sales process managed by Allen & Co. The memo indicated robust interest from multiple qualified bidders, with the Khosla group emerging as the preferred buyer.
Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of IT giant Sun Microsystems, is currently a limited partner of the San Francisco 49ers. He will be required to divest his stake in the 49ers before the Seahawks purchase is finalized. Khosla's wife, Neeru, is slated to serve as the controlling owner, with their son Neal, CEO of AI healthcare company Curai, also expected to hold a leadership position.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Khosla stated in a release from Allen’s estate. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”
The Seahawks have been owned by the Allen family since 1997, when Paul Allen purchased the team for $194 million from Ken Behring. Allen passed away in 2018. Following Allen's directives, his sister Jody has also overseen the sale of his NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers, which was sold to Tom Dundon for approximately $4 billion last September.
