​The Seahawks are edging closer to a change in ownership, with two frontrunner groups emerging in the bid to purchase the team. Ben Horney of Front Office Sports reports that one camp is led by Aditya Mittal, a Celtics minority owner, and Wyc Grousbeck, a former Celtics governor, while the other is spearheaded by Vinod Khosla, a minority investor with the 49ers. Horney notes that one of these two teams includes at least one former Seahawks player among its ranks, though the player and the specific group remain unnamed.
At this stage, it appears those two groups are the primary contenders, though Horney cautions that another bidder could surface. The deciding factor, as with many high-stakes sports sales, will be the money on the table—who offers the most. According to Horney, Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos has stepped out of the process, and Todd Boehly had shown interest but is no longer in contention.
The Paul G. Allen Estate, which is overseeing the sale, told Horney that there is no news to share about the sale process at the moment. Throughout the proceedings, details have been sparse and often vague. Initially, expectations were that the winning bid would land somewhere in the $9 billion to $11 billion range. An ESPN report at one point suggested the market was soft, though later reporting indicated that the market had intensified.
Regardless of the shifting headlines, the sale process has not taken on the frenetic pace some observers anticipated, even though the Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champions and appear poised to remain competitive for years. In this calculus, on-field success does not directly determine value. NFL franchises hold substantial value because of their enormous recurring revenues, meaning that the sale price will reflect far more than a single season’s performance.
Historical comparisons set a high bar: the Broncos sold for $4.65 billion four years ago, and the Commanders fetched $6.05 billion a year later. The Seahawks’ sale is poised to set another record, though the exact ceiling remains to be seen. As the process unfolds, it’s reasonable to expect more bidders or strategic interests to surface, potentially driving the price higher. There is a sense that an owner or investment group may be waiting for the Seattle sale to conclude before deciding to bring another franchise to market. The NFL tends to favor a measured number of teams for sale at once to preserve asset value; if more than one franchise were simultaneously on the market, buyers would gain additional leverage that could suppress the final price. But if a moment comes when additional opportunities align, the market could see renewed competition and a new benchmark for the next marquee sale in the league.