The pending $9.612 billion sale of the Seahawks signals to industry analysts that some NFL franchises could be worth $15 billion to $20 billion in the not-too-distant future. But for the first time in several years, it’s not clear to those in and around the league which team will be the next to go on the market.
“I don’t know who’s going to be next,” said Irwin A. Kishner, a partner and co-chair of the corporate department and sports law group at Herrick Feinstein LLP. “These things usually sort of, if you will, pop up. But there will be a next. … Who’s next is frankly anybody’s guess.”
After the Commanders were sold from Daniel Snyder to a group led by private-equity investor Josh Harris for $6.05 billion in 2023, it was widely assumed within the NFL that the Seahawks would be the next team to be sold. They had been owned by the estate of late owner Paul G. Allen since the Microsoft cofounder’s death in 2018. Allen had directed that the Seahawks and the NBA team that he owned, the Trail Blazers, be sold and the proceeds donated to charity.
It was only a matter of when. Earlier this month, Allen’s estate announced it had reached an agreement to sell the Seahawks to a group led by the family of venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. The NFL’s team owners are scheduled to meet Aug. 26 in Atlanta to potentially take an approval vote on the deal. The league told teams that Khosla’s wife, Neeru Khosla, would serve as the controlling owner if the purchase is ratified, as expected. Their son, Neal Khosla, is to have a “significant” leadership role in ownership of the franchise, the NFL told teams.
