NFL owners approve $9.6B Seahawks sale to Khosla family

It's official: the Seahawks have a new ownership group, and it's the biggest check ever written for a professional sports franchise in North America. Adam Schefter broke the news that all 32 NFL owners signed off on the sale during a league meeting on August 26, ending the Paul Allen estate's stewardship of the team that's lasted since Allen's death in 2018.

The number itself is absurd. $9.612 billion blows past the previous NFL record of $6.05 billion, which the Commanders fetched when Josh Harris bought them in 2023. Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder worth an estimated $13.8 billion, entered a formal agreement with the Allen estate back in July, and it's taken until now to clear the league's ownership committees and get a vote in front of the full room of owners.

The structure is a family affair. Neeru Khosla, Vinod's wife, is set to be the controlling owner on paper, while their son Neal is expected to step into a real leadership role with the franchise. It's a similar setup to what plenty of ownership groups have done in recent years — spread the control around, keep the money in the family, and let the next generation actually run point.

There's also a timing wrinkle that makes this whole thing sting a little extra for whoever's writing the check. Seattle just won the Super Bowl in February, so the Khoslas aren't just buying a team — they're buying the defending champs. Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly noted as much, pointing out it's not every day you get to buy a title team outright.

Nothing changes on the field immediately. The deal still has to formally close, and the expectation is that'll happen before Seattle opens its season on September 9 against the Patriots. But the vote is the real hurdle — leagues have blocked or slow-walked sales before — and with unanimous approval from the room, the Khosla era in Seattle is essentially locked in.