Every time a professional sports team goes on the market, it sets a new precedent for how much a team can be bought for. This trend was not broken, as the Seattle Seahawks sold for a whopping $9.6 billion on Saturday, according to a press release by the team.
The buyer of the Seahawks is a group led by Vinod Khosla and his family. Khosla currently owns a stake in the San Francisco 49ers, which he would be forced to sell once the purchase of the Seahawks is finalized. Khosla is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist originally from India. He is known for founding Sun Microsystems and Khosla Ventures.
The sale will need to be approved by the other NFL owners. According to ESPN, they will meet to discuss the sale in August.
The Seahawks are defending Super Bowl champions following their victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 earlier this year.
The Seahawks are now the American sports team that has been sold for the largest sum of money. That is no surprise, given that the values of professional sports teams go up each year.
The latest NFL team to sell was the Washington Commanders back in 2023. They were bought by a group led by Josh Harris for just over $6 billion.
The NFL far eclipses other American sports leagues in terms of value. For instance, the latest NBA team to sell was the Portland Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion in 2025. The latest MLB team to sell was the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 for $1.73 billion.
The time in which the teams are sold also has a monumental impact on the value. Only a few years can mean billions of dollars, as these values are constantly growing.
Pro sports teams, like a lot of other commodities, are also often sold for over their current valuation. When Sportico released its NFL team valuations last year, the Seahawks were valued at $6.59 billion, which came out to 14th.
There’s no telling what one of the top teams could potentially sell for if they came on the market today. The Dallas Cowboys, who aren’t likely to be sold by Jerry Jones anytime soon, have long been the most valuable franchise in professional sports. They were valued in that same ranking at $12.8 billion, almost double the Seahawks.
The Seahawks were owned by Paul Allen from 1997 until he died in 2018. Allen, one of the co-founders of Microsoft, stipulated that the funds from the sale of his sports franchises would be donated to charity.
Allen also owned the Portland Trail Blazers, who were sold in 2025. Both teams have been under the ownership of his trust, led by his sister Jody, since 2018.
Much of the Allens’ charitable efforts will likely be made through their foundation, Allen Family Philanthropies. The foundation largely focuses on the areas of art, culture, youth, and the environment in the American Pacific Northwest.
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