Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – An ownership group led by India-born billionaire Vinod Khosla has purchased the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the NFL team announced on Saturday. The Estate of Paul G. Allen revealed it entered into a formal sale agreement with a group led by the Khosla family, notably 71-year-old Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, a partner in the San Francisco 49ers’ ownership group.
The Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owner, according to a Seahawks statement. “We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”
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NFL owners must approve the transaction for the deal to be complete. The estate of Microsoft co-founder Allen, who died in 2018, has directed trust executor Jody Allen, Paul’s sister, to donate all proceeds from the sale of the Seahawks to charity. “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 sale is final.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed but ESPN reported, citing unnamed sources, the sale price was $9.612 billion, a record purchase amount for an NFL club. The most recent NFL sale was for the Washington Commanders in 2023 for $6.05 billion. The Khosla family must give up all stake in the rival 49ers before the deal can be completed. That move was expected to come in time for a league meeting next month, ESPN reported.
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