​An ownership group led by Vinod Khosla, the India-born billionaire and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, has purchased the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the NFL announced on Saturday. The Estate of Paul G. Allen disclosed that it entered into a formal sale agreement with a consortium led by the Khosla family, which includes 71-year-old Vinod Khosla, a partner in the ownership group of the San Francisco 49ers. As stated by the Seahawks, the Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owners.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “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 completion of the transaction remains contingent on approval from NFL owners.
The estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who passed away in 2018, has directed trust executor Jody Allen, Paul’s sister, to donate all proceeds from the sale of the Seahawks to charity. “Excited to be part of this great franchise,” Vinod Khosla wrote on social media. “Also excited to see the money all go to a non-profit. No other comments until the sale is final.”
Terms of the sale were not disclosed publicly, but ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported that the sale price was approximately $9.612 billion, a record for an NFL franchise. The previous record sale for an NFL team was the Washington Commanders in 2023, which went for $6.05 billion.
A stipulation of the deal is that the Khosla family must relinquish all stake in the rival San Francisco 49ers before the transaction can close, a move that is expected to be completed in time for a league meeting next month, according to ESPN. The sale process and its timing have referred to ongoing regulatory and league considerations, with the NFL’s ultimate blessing required for the transfer of ownership to be finalized.