The Paul Allen era of Seahawks ownership is ending, and it's ending with a number that makes your head spin. Adam Schefter and Seth Wickersham broke the news that a group led by 49ers limited partner Vinod Khosla has agreed to buy Seattle for $9.6 billion, blowing away every previous NFL sale price on record.
Schefter's initial report on the Khosla group agreeing to buy the Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion.
Within minutes the internet did what the internet does, cracking jokes about a 49ers owner suddenly jumping to buy a division rival. It's a fair punchline given Khosla's existing stake in San Francisco, though he'll reportedly have to unload that 49ers piece entirely since the NFL doesn't allow cross-ownership like that.
49ers owners jumping ship 🤣🤣🤣
Schefter followed up with the exact figure: $9.612 billion, not just a round $9.6 billion headline number. For context on how absurd that is, he noted it's 50% more than the Commanders sold for back in July 2023, and the Seahawks franchise Paul Allen bought for $194 million in 1997 has now appreciated by roughly 50 times over in under 30 years.
The $9.612 billion purchase price for the Seattle Seahawks is 50% more than the Commanders were sold for in July 2023.
This isn't a done deal just yet, either. The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams confirming the Estate of Paul Allen reached the agreement after a sales process run by Allen & Co., which fielded what it called "very robust interest" before the Khosla group emerged as the preferred buyer among multiple qualified bidders. Schefter reported owners have been asked to hold August 26 open for a special meeting to vote on approving the sale, so the Seahawks technically still belong to the Allen estate until that gets rubber-stamped.
The deal is subject to NFL owner approval. Owners have been given the date of August 26 to keep open for a special meeting to approve the deal, sources said.
The other twist buried in the memo: Khosla isn't the one who'll actually run the team day to day as controlling owner. That title goes to his wife, Neeru Khosla, a co-founder of the CK12 Foundation education non-profit, which lines up with Hayden Winks' curiosity about how a non-profit angle factors into the ownership structure. Vinod built his fortune co-founding Sun Microsystems and later running Khosla Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's biggest venture firms, but it'll be Neeru's name on the lease when this thing gets approved.
Assuming the vote goes through as expected in late August, Seattle will have new ownership for the first time since Allen bought the franchise in 1997, and the NFL will have a fresh benchmark for exactly what a modern franchise is worth. Whatever the Commanders thought they cashed in on two years ago, the Seahawks just reset the entire market.