The Estate of Paul Allen has entered into an agreement to sell the Seattle Seahawks for approximately $9.6 billion to the Khosla family, including venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, in accordance with the wishes of the late team owner, the team announced on July 11.
The figure marks the highest sale price in NFL history, and the second-highest in North American sports history, behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ approximately $10 billion sale last year.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks. We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere,” Vinod Khosla said on behalf of the Khosla family.
Further financial details of the transaction have yet to be disclosed, and the sale remains subject to NFL approval in the coming months.
Vinod Khosla, 71, founded Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, which has invested in many influential tech companies, including OpenAI, DoorDash, Instacart, GitLab, Stripe, and Block.
Khosla, who, according to Forbes, currently has a $13.7 billion net worth, purchased an approximately 3.1 percent stake in the San Francisco 49ers last year that he will be required to relinquish because of the Seattle deal.
The team said Allen had directed all proceeds from this sale and his other sports holdings to be donated to philanthropy, which Vinod Khosla said he is excited about. Khosla added that he won’t comment further until the sale is final.
Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft who is from Seattle, bought the Seahawks in 1997 for $194 million, and the team has been in the Allen family since.
Allen played an important role in keeping the Seahawks in Seattle, which is where the team intends to remain after this sale. The team has a lease at Luman Field through 2032 with three 10-year options.
Allen died in 2018 at the age of 65 from complications of Hodgkin lymphoma. The Seahawks and NBA team Portland Trailblazers have been owned by his sister, Jody, since his death.
The Seahawks first announced that they had begun the process of selling the team on Feb. 18.
Investment bank Allen & Company—not associated with Paul Allen—and law firm Latham & Watkins are leading the sale process, which the team estimated will continue throughout the off-season.
