NFL owners unanimously approve $9.612 billion sale of Seattle Seahawks to group led by Vinod Khosla

The $9.6 billion deal is the largest transaction in NFL history

By Ryan Young, Staff writer

The Seattle Seahawks deal is now official.

NFL owners unanimously voted to approve the record $9.612 billion sale of the Seattle Seahawks during a one-day league meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson. That means that the group led by San Francisco 49ers minority owner Vinod Khosla can now move forward.

The sale was agreed to already last month, but it needed approval from at least 24 of the 32 NFL owners to be ratified. Wednesday’s approval was widely expected. Khosla and his ownership group will now take over the Seahawks once the transaction officially closes. A timeline there isn’t clear, but according to ESPN, that could happen before the Seahawks open the season against the New England Patriots.

This marks the first time the Seahawks have been sold since Paul Allen purchased the team in 1997. The team was transferred to Allen’s estate after his death in 2018, and it’s been managed by his sister, Jody Allen, ever since. Allen specified that his sports holdings, including the Portland Trail Blazers, were to be sold after his death. The proceeds were due to go toward philanthropic efforts.

Khosla, 71, joined the 49ers’ ownership group last year when he purchased a roughly 3% share of the team, which put the total value of the franchise at $8.5 billion. He is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and the founder of a venture capital firm. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of more than $13 billion.

Khosla will have to sell off his minority stake in the 49ers in order to complete the purchase of the Seahawks. He will be the controlling owner of the team, along with his wife, Neeru, and their son, Neal. It’s unclear who else is part of the ownership group.

The Seahawks will open the season against the Patriots, a rematch of Super Bowl LX back in February, on Sept. 9.