NFL Champion Seattle Seahawks Sold for $9.6 Billion

NFL team owners approved the sale of the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champion, to an investor group led by billionaire Vinod Khosla for an unprecedented sum of $9.612 billion. The acquisition was approved after gaining the support of at least 24 of the 32 league team owners, and it becomes one of the largest deals in the history of American sports.

The deal ends the ownership of the Paul Allen Trust, co-founder of Microsoft, who purchased the Seahawks in 1997. After his death in 2018, control of the team passed to his sister, Jody Allen, who accepted responsibility for the team and the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, along with a directive to sell both teams later and donate the proceeds to charity. The amount paid for Seattle is significantly higher than the $6.05 billion paid for the Washington Commanders in 2023, and places the deal in second place on the list of the largest sales of sports teams in the US. Currently in first place is the Los Angeles Lakers, which was sold last year for about $10 billion, while according to reports it is now in the process of another ownership change in a deal that could reach $12.5 billion.

The 71-year-old Khosla is one of the founders of the technology company Sun Microsystems and founder of the venture capital fund Khosla Ventures. According to Forbes, his personal wealth is estimated at about $13.2 billion. As part of the deal, he will be forced to give up a minority stake he held in the San Francisco 49ers, in accordance with NFL rules regarding team ownership.

"We feel honored to be entrusted as the next owners of the Seattle Seahawks. How often do you get an opportunity to buy a team that just won the Super Bowl? We are extraordinarily lucky and humbled by this gift, I would say, from the Allen Trust. We look forward to building on the legacy of winning that Paul Allen created and earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere", said Khosla after the deal was approved.

In a press conference held after the deal was approved, the new owner clarified that his goal is clear: to continue the professional success and not settle for the championship already achieved. "The task before us is actually very simple - to maintain the winning streak, to win another Super Bowl", he said.

Since Paul Allen purchased the Seahawks from Ken Behring in 1997, the team has managed to become one of the most prominent in the NFL. During the 29 seasons that Allen and his sister Jody held ownership of the club, Seattle reached the playoffs 17 times and won two Super Bowls out of four final games in which it participated.