08/26/26 03:03:00
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08/26 15:01 CDT NFL owners unanimously approve the sale of the Seahawks to
Vinod Khosla and his family
NFL owners unanimously approve the sale of the Seahawks to Vinod Khosla and his
family
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- NFL owners on Wednesday unanimously approved the sale of the
Seattle Seahawks to the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell congratulated the Khosla family for having
"great timing" in purchasing the team that is coming off its second Super Bowl
victory in franchise history.
"It's not very often you can buy a Super Bowl championship team, but you've
done that," Goodell said. "Many of our members struggle to find ways to get in
the Super Bowl and win a trophy and you'll be walking into your new building
shortly with a fresh, shiny trophy there for you."
The sales agreement for $9.612 billion was announced on July 11 and awaited
Wednesday's approval at a special owners meeting in Atlanta to become final.
The sale was in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen.
Vinod Khosla thanked Allen's sister, Jody Allen, and the Allen Trust "for
trusting us for this franchise."
"As Roger said, it's pretty simple when the team is functioning as well as it
is today," Khosla said. "How often do you get to buy a franchise that just won
the Super Bowl? So we are incredibly lucky and humbled by this gift, I would
say, from the Allen Trust."
The Khosla family will be required to relinquish its ownership stake in the San
Francisco 49ers as part of the deal. Khosla joined the 49ers ownership group as
a minority owner in 2025, purchasing 3.1% of the team.
Goodell said the family's experience with the 49ers was attractive to other NFL
owners.
"They know our league well," Goodell said. "As you know, they have been
ownership in the NFC West with the San Francisco 49ers. They understand the
passion of the NFL, they understand the 12s, they understand this Seattle
community and the NFL. And so that makes this transaction particularly
attractive to all of us."
Khosla also paid tribute to the Seattle fans known as the "12s."
"Having been to Lumen Field and watching the 12s everywhere, I do want to thank
them for their passion and fervor," Khosla said. "And the community in Seattle
is incredibly valuable. So we hope we'll engage a lot more with the community
also."
Khosla's wife, Neeru, said their son, Neal, played a role in the family's
interest in buying the team. They attended Wednesday's meeting with Khosla's
daughter, Nina.
"He's been a big fan of sports, and in particular, football," said Neeru of
Neal. "... So he's the one who actually really pushed us into doing this. He
worked really hard, so I'm really proud of him."
Vinod Khosla, who was born in India, said he was first a fan of the Pittsburgh
Steelers when he moved to the United States in 1976.
"We've been very passionate about football for a long time," he said. "I would
say we've been going to home games at the 49ers since (Neal) was 5, maybe half
of all home games since he was five. And so football is definitely a passion.
... I was originally and still am a big Steelers fan. ... Little known fact,
but I still watch all the Steelers games, too."
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