黑料福利社

A group headed by the Khosla family 鈥� Vinod Khosla, his wife Neeru and son Neal 鈥� is set to become the fourth owners in the 51-year history of the Seattle Seahawks.

The price tag is hefty 鈥� $9.6 billion, blowing away the previous record paid for an NFL franchise of $6.05 billion for the Washington Commanders in 2023, according to multiple reports confirmed to The Seattle Times by a league source.

The Seahawks on Saturday afternoon made the news official in a statement noting that the Paul G. Allen Estate had entered into an agreement to sell the team to the Khosla family. The Statement included a quote from Vinod Khosla, whose family a year ago bought a 3.1% share of the San Francisco 49ers (which will now have to be solid).

鈥淲e are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,鈥� Khosla said in the statement. 鈥淲e look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.

A memo released by the NFL to all teams Saturday afternoon stated that Neeru Khosla will be the controlling owner and that Neal Khosla 鈥渨ill be expected to have a significant leadership role in the ownership group.鈥� Vinod and Neeru Khosla have been married since 1980.

The sale could be approved at a league meeting on Aug. 26 according to ESPN. The agreement will first be sent to the NFL鈥檚 finance committee for review and then on to the league where it will have to be approved by 24 of 32 owners.

The NFL memo, first made public by the NFL Network, stated that 鈥渢here had been robust interest鈥� in the team since it first went on sale in February with the Khosla group 鈥渆merging as the Club鈥檚 preferred buyer among among multiple qualified bidders.鈥�

The Khosla group was among the first reported as weighing a bid on the Seahawks in May and it was revealed last week that they were one of two finalists, the other being a group led by Boston Celtics alternate governors Wyc Grousbeck and Aditya Mittal.

Vinod Khosla, 71, born in Pune, India, is a co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a founder of Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, Calif. Neal Khosla, a Stanford grad, is the co-founder and CEO of Curai Health in Palo Alto, described as an AI-driven virtual health care company and wellness platform provider.

The hope of the team and league all along had been that the sale and ownership transfer is completed by the time the regular season begins with the Seahawks hosting the first game of the year on Sept. 9 against the New England Patriots.

The Paul G. Allen Estate, which has been chaired by Jody Allen since Paul Allen鈥檚 death in Oct. of 2018, put the team up for sale on Feb. 18.

Paul G. Allen bought the team from Ken Behring in 1997 for $194 million, encouraged to do so by local officials after Behring tried to move the Seahawks to southern California. Allen completed the sale after voters approved a measure to help fund the construction of what is now Lumen Field.

Behring bought the team for $80 million in 1988 from the initial ownership group headed up by the Nordstrom family, which paid a buy-in fee of $16 million to join the league as an expansion franchise in 1976.

There was speculation a sale was close after it was reported in late June that a deadline for initial bids had passed. Seahawks vice chair Bert Kolde was in Sun Valley, Idaho, last week attending the annual conference hosted by Allen & Company, which was hired by the estate to help run the sale. It was thought Kolde was there in part to meet about the sale.

It is the first time in the Super Bowl era that a team coming off a title will change owners the following season.

That the Khoslas were only minority owners of the 49ers for one season before making a bid on the Seahawks doesn鈥檛 give a significant track record on how they will operate now as majority owners.

After the news of their 49ers purchase was revealed, each said it was because of a love of the sport built through attending games for decades.

鈥淢y father and I have been season ticket holders for 30 years, going to games at The Stick starting when I was a child through the last 11 years at Levi鈥檚 Stadium,鈥� said Neal Khosla in a statement release through the 49ers on behalf of the Khosla family last year. 鈥淔or us, becoming members of the 49ers family is a dream come true and we鈥檙e honored to be a part of the team鈥檚 future success and continued impact on the Bay Area community.鈥�

Vinod Khosla鈥檚 bio on his company鈥檚 website states that he earned a bachelor鈥檚 in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi then attempted to start a soy milk company in India 鈥渢o serve millions of households without refrigeration.鈥� When that failed, he came to the United States, earned a master鈥檚 in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which brought him to Silicon Valley.

Vinod Khosla said in a speaking engagement following the 49ers purchase that, 鈥淣eal and I have had season tickets since he was probably five, and we鈥檝e come to games together. It鈥檚 probably one of the best things we do, supporting for over 25 years. (The decision to buy into the 49ers) was pretty easy.鈥�

On his personal website, Neal Khosla also once wrote: 鈥淚鈥檓 an obsessive sports fan,鈥� adding that, 鈥淚鈥檝e worked/consulted for professional sports teams like the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Heat, but more than anything I like watching sports and bringing a quantitative and analytical lens to understanding the game within the game.鈥�

Neal Khosla was also named to the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare list, writing: 鈥淣eal Khosla鈥檚 startup Curai Health is using AI to help improve the scale and efficiency of virtual care delivery. The goal is to make primary care accessible to the uninsured, gig and minimum-wage workers by cutting costs for both in-person and telehealth businesses. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $60 million from investors.鈥�

The new group will take over a franchise not only coming off the second Super Bowl title in its 50-year history but appearing well situated to remain at an elite level for some time.

All but five players who got offensive or defensive snaps in the 29-13 Super Bowl win over New England Feb. 8 remain on the roster.

General manager John Schneider is under contract through 2031, signing an extension last July.

And coach Mike Macdonald, who turned 39 in June and led the Seahawks to the title in just his second season as coach, is under contract through 2029.

The team has a lease to play at Lumen Field through 2031 with three 10-year options that follow, selling out 190 straight games and qualified for four Super Bowls since 2005, all under the ownership of Paul or Jody Allen.