Shortly before the NFL’s owners met last month, a recommendation was made to approve the sale of the Seahawks to a group led by Vinod Khosla. To no surprise, the deal received the green light through a unanimous vote.
That paved the way for the Khosla family to finalize their purchase of the reigning Super Bowl champions. Many expected the sale could go through prior to Week 1, and that has indeed proven to be the case. The Seahawks announced on Thursday that the purchase is now official.
“We are honored and excited to begin this next chapter,” a statement from the Khosla family reads in part. “We look forward to engaging with the Seattle community and building upon the legacy and traditions that make this franchise so special. We would like to extend our gratitude to the investors joining our ownership group and to everyone who has supported us throughout the sale process.”
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In July, an agreement was reached for the Seahawks to be sold to the Khosla family for a record-breaking $9.61 billion price. The team had been up for sale since February in accordance with the terms of late owner Paul Allen’s will. Jody Allen served as Seattle’s controlling owner after Paul’s passing, but a new era on that front has now begun.
The announcement confirms that Vinod Khosla will hold the title of chair of the Seahawks. His wife Neeru, meanwhile, will operate as the team’s controlling owner. Their son Neal – who is expected to be a key figure in the operation of the franchise as well – will serve as vice chair.
Today’s news also provides the identities of 10 individuals/families and two equity/investment firms who were involved in the Khosla group and have now become minority owners as a result. Mark Maske and Ben Horney of Front Office Sports recently reported the final ownership list may include minority stakeholders from the runners-up to purchase the Seahawks. A group fronted by Aditya Mittal and Wyc Grousbeck became the other finalist to buy the team before the Khosla family ultimately won out.
The report did not specify which members of the Mittal-Grousbeck group were in conversations about potentially joining the list of new Seahawks owners. As a result, it is unclear if any of them did so. NFL rules require an ownership group to contain no more than 25 members, so in any event there is plenty of room for non-controlling stakes to be sold in the future in Seattle’s case.
The Khosla family still owns a 3.1% interest in the 49ers at this time, but as expected that has not prevented their purchase of the Seahawks from being finalized. The 49ers hold the final say with respect to whom the Khosla shares can eventually be sold to, per the report.
