The Paul Allen era in Seattle is officially ending on paper. A group fronted by Vinod Khosla, currently a limited partner in the 49ers, has agreed to buy the Seahawks for $9.612 billion, and Adam Schefter got the number exact down to the last million.
A group led by San Francisco 49ers limited partner Vinod Khosla has agreed to purchase the Seattle Seahawks for $9.6 billion, a record sale price for an NFL franchise, per @SethWickersham and me.
The internet did what the internet does with a 49ers minority owner suddenly buying a rival franchise.
49ers owners jumping ship 🤣🤣🤣
This isn't done yet, though. It's an agreement, not a closed deal. Per Schefter, the sale needs sign-off from NFL ownership, and the league has circled August 26 for a special meeting to vote it through. Under league rules that means at least 24 of the 32 owners have to approve, and as part of the arrangement the Khosla family will reportedly have to give up its 49ers stake first. So for the next six weeks, this is technically still a handshake.
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 number itself is the real story. Paul Allen bought this team in 1997 for $194 million after Ken Behring nearly moved it to Los Angeles. Nearly 30 years and one Super Bowl title later, it's changing hands for $9.612 billion, which Schefter noted is 50% more than Josh Harris paid for the Commanders back in 2023. Put it on the all-time list and it slots in behind only Mark Walter's $10 billion Lakers purchase this year, ahead of both the Celtics' $6.1 billion sale and the Commanders deal.
Largest sales prices for professional sports teams: 💰2025, Lakers: $10 billion 💰2026, Seahawks: $9.612 billion 💰2025, Celtics: $6.1 billion 💰2023, Commanders: $6.05 billion
Khosla, 71, co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 and built Khosla Ventures into one of Silicon Valley's biggest venture firms, with a reported net worth north of $13 billion. But the more interesting wrinkle is who's actually running the show: his wife, Neeru Khosla, will be the team's controlling owner, according to the memo the NFL sent to all 32 teams. She's spent decades running CK-12, a nonprofit focused on free educational content, which lines up with Hayden Winks flagging that the philanthropic side of this deal is worth watching closely.
The details of the non profit will be interesting
Seahawks fans have spent years bracing for the post-Allen sale, wondering whether an out-of-town buyer would treat the franchise like an asset instead of a civic institution. Khosla keeping the 49ers ties severed and installing Neeru as the controlling owner is at least a signal of intent. Now it's a waiting game until late August, when 24 votes either make this the second-biggest sale in sports history or send everyone back to the drawing board.