Updated July 11, 2026, 4:32 p.m. PT

The Seattle Seahawks appear headed for a historic ownership change, and the price tag could reset the market for every NFL franchise.

According to a memo sent to NFL teams and reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the estate of Paul Allen has reached an agreement to sell the Seahawks to the family of Vinod Khosla and several limited partners for $9.612 billion, subject to league review and approval. If finalized, the deal would become the most expensive sale of an NFL franchise, surpassing the $6.05 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders by a group led by Josh Harris in 2023.

The agreement follows a lengthy process run by Allen & Co. and ends years of questions about when the Seahawks would eventually change hands following Allen’s death in 2018. Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who bought the franchise from Ken Behring in 1997, is widely credited with keeping the Seahawks in Seattle after relocation concerns in the 1990s. Since his death from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers had been controlled by his estate, with his sister, Jody Allen, serving as executor of the trust.The

Khosla family would lead a new ownership group

The memo identified the Khosla family as the preferred buyer after what the league described as a competitive process that drew significant interest. The now influential sports ownership family includes Neeru Khosla, who would serve as controlling owner, Vinod Khosla, and their son Neal Khosla, who is expected to hold a significant leadership role in the ownership group.

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Neeru Khosla is an educator and entrepreneur, while Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems and later founded Khosla Ventures, becoming one of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley investing. Neal Khosla is the CEO of Curai, an AI health care company. The group’s technology and venture capital background would give the Seahawks one of the more financially powerful ownership profiles in the league.

There is one major procedural step tied to the group’s NFL connection. The Khosla family currently owns a limited partner interest in the San Francisco 49ers and would be required to divest that stake before completing the Seahawks purchase. That requirement is expected and would be part of the league’s standard ownership review.

The sale still needs NFL approval

The agreement does not immediately make the Khosla family the Seahawks’ new ownership group. The transaction still must go through the NFL’s membership review and approval process. According to the memo, the commissioner and league staff have already held discussions with the Khosla family and its representatives, and the league has started reviewing key transaction documents and conducting customary due diligence.

The NFL’s finance committee will review the transaction before it is presented to the full membership for consideration. Approval from league owners is required before the sale can become official. That process is not expected to change the broader significance of the agreement. The $9.612 billion figure would represent a massive leap from the last full NFL team sale and would reinforce the league’s position as the most powerful franchise marketplace in American sports.