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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 08: Jody Allen of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks‘ incoming ownership group has made clear it wants to respect the foundation already in place, as Vinod Khosla is backing a fitting way to close out the Allen family’s run with the franchise.
A fan asked Khosla on X whether the Khosla family planned to raise the 12 Flag before Seattle’s season opener or whether outgoing chair Jody Allen could handle the ceremony “one last time as a goodbye.”
“I’d love to have Jody do it,” Khosla replied on X.
The idea would give Allen a prominent farewell at Lumen Field days after the Seahawks said the franchise’s sale to the Khosla family is expected to be finalized later this week.
Allen Could Bookend Seahawks’ Championship Run
GettySANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 08: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hands the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Jody Allen of the Seattle Seahawks after the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots 29-13. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Allen has recent history with one of Seattle’s signature pregame traditions.
The Seahawks selected her to raise the 12 Flag before January’s NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams. Seattle won that game and then defeated New England 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, giving the franchise its second Lombardi Trophy.
Allen took over leadership of the organization after her brother, Paul Allen, died in 2018.
Her tenure included several franchise-altering decisions, including signing off on the Russell Wilson trade and moving on from longtime head coach Pete Carroll. General manager John Schneider then hired Mike Macdonald, who led Seattle to the Super Bowl title in his second season.
The Seahawks credited Allen for providing Macdonald and Schneider with the support to make difficult decisions during the championship build. Macdonald said after the Super Bowl that Allen “always backed John and I on some of the tough decisions we had to make.”
That history would give a Week 1 flag raising a bit more than a routine ceremonial choice. The 12 Flag has been raised before every Seahawks home game since the tradition began in 2003, when 12 original season-ticket holders handled the first ceremony.
Allen doing it again would connect the final days of her family’s ownership directly to the opening night of the next era.
Khosla Continues to Signal Continuity in Seattle
GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 28: Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures, speaks onstage during day two of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone Center on October 28, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
Khosla’s response also hits the tone he has struck since his family reached an agreement to buy the Seahawks.
NFL owners unanimously approved the $9.612 billion sale on Aug. 26, clearing the biggest remaining hurdle before closing.
After the vote, Khosla described the family as “incredibly lucky and humbled” to inherit a team coming off a championship and said the objective was to keep winning and take a long-term approach.
The Seahawks themselves offered a public thank-you to the Allen family on Sept. 2, crediting Paul and Jody Allen for nearly three decades of stewardship.
Paul Allen purchased the franchise in 1997 and helped keep it in Seattle. Jody Allen later oversaw the transition from Carroll to Macdonald and was on the field holding the Lombardi Trophy after February’s championship.
The Khosla family will arrive with a tough act to follow, but Vinod Khosla has repeatedly pointed toward continuity over upheaval.
Letting Allen raise the 12 Flag before the first regular-season game would fit that approach. It would also give Seahawks fans a chance to recognize the outgoing chair at the same stadium where the Allen family helped cultivate one of the franchise’s defining traditions.
Khosla’s social-media reply stops short of an official announcement, and Seattle has yet to name the Week 1 flag raiser.
His preference, however, is clear.
Duncan Day is a sports contributor for Heavy. He has covered NFL, NBA, hockey and soccer for various outlets, including NBC Sports, Boston.com, USA TODAY, Forbes, Bleacher Report, The Dallas Morning News and more. More about Duncan Day