India-born billionaire Vinod Khosla buys Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in a historic deal

A group led by Indian-origin billionaire Vinod Khosla has formally purchased the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, with the NFL team announcing the news on Saturday. In a post on their multiple social media platforms, the Estate of Paul G. Allen revealed it entered into a formal sale agreement with a group led by the Khosla family.

Interestingly, the 71-year-old Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla has been a partner in the San Francisco 49ers' ownership group. With the latest agreement, the Khosla family will become the team's controlling owner, according to a Seahawks statement.\

"We are honoured to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks," Vinod Khosla said in a separate statement. "We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organisation and fans everywhere," the statement further reads.

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It is pertinent to note that NFL owners must approve the transaction for the deal to be complete. It is pertinent to note that the estate of Microsoft co-founder Allen, who died in 2018, has directed trust executor Jody Allen, Paul's sister, to donate all the proceeds from the sale of the Seahawks to charity.

Khosla reacts

In his statement, the India-born billionaire maintained that he is looking forward to his new endeavour. "Excited to be part of this great franchise," Vinod Khosla posted on social media. "Also excited to see the money all go to a non-profit. No other comments till the sale is final."

While the terms of the transactions were not made public, according to an ESPN report, citing unnamed sources, the sale was priced at a whopping $9.612 billion. If the figures are to be believed, this would be a record amount for an NFL club.

The most recent sale of an NFL team was for the Washington Commanders in 2023, which went for $6.05 billion. Since they took ownership of the Seahawks, the Khosla family must give up all its stakes in the rival 49ers before the deal can be completed. According to ESPN, the move was expected to come in time for a league meeting next month.