The sale for the Seahawks has been a much quieter story than that of the Commanders and Broncos in prior years. All the same, it’s a record sale as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that a group led by 49ers limited partner Vinod Khosla has agreed to purchase the Seahawks for $9.6 billion.

“Following a thorough sales process run by Allen & Co., the Estate of Paul Allen has reached agreement to sell the Seattle Seahawks to the Khosla family and several limited partners, subject to membership review and approval,” a league memo reads (h/t Schefter).

“Allen & Co. reported very robust interest in the Club throughout the process, with the Khosla group emerging as the Club’s preferred buyer among multiple qualified bidders. The Khosla family currently owns a limited partner interest in the San Francisco 49ers and would be required to divest that interest. The Khosla family includes Neeru Khosla, who would serve as the controlling owner, Vinod Khosla, and their son Neal Khosla.”

As is standard practice for franchise sales, a review will take place before the NFL’s finance committee presents the deal for final approval by the league’s owners. On that point, Schefter reports owners have been given the date of August 26 to hold for an meeting to approval the sale. Provided all goes according to plan, Seattle’s new ownership group will indeed be in place by the start of the 2026 season.

A sale has long been a talking point in the case of the defending Super Bowl champions. The terms of Paul Allen’s estate made clear the requirement for ownership of the Seahawks – along with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers – to take place within a specified timeline. The Blazers have already been sold, and a small group of prospective bidders emerged with the Seahawks going on the market right after their second championship.

More recently, initial bids were due for the NFL’s latest group of potential owners. Khosla found himself competing against Boston Celtics alternate governors Wyc Grousbeck and Aditya Mittal as a finalist. His bid has won out, although details regarding the financing of the deal have not yet emerged. As noted by Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, it is also unclear how many limited partners will be present alongside Khosla.

“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” a statement reads from Khosla, speaking on behalf of his family. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”

The sale of the Broncos was quickly and demonstrably outpaced by that of the Commanders. The latter deal – finalized in 2023 – was worth $6.05 billion, and it was widely expected Seattle’s ownership change would comfortably set a new record. Doubts were raised about $10 billion being a potential figure in this case, but at a final mark of $9.612MM (per Schefter), the market for the Seahawks has certainly proven to be robust.

Paul Allen purchased the franchise in 1997, a move which was critical to keeping the Seahawks in Seattle. Allen continued in his role as owner until his death in 2018. His sister, Jody Allen assumed the role of controlling owner at that point, with a timeline for a sale being established through the terms of Paul’s will. A major step toward an official change of ownership has now been taken, and final approval later this summer can be expected.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.