Report reveals potential factor in Seahawks selling to Khosla group

Just over a week after the news of the Seattle Seahawks’ sale to an ownership group led by Vinod Khosla, Pro Football Talk reported two details about it – including something very interesting that was a potential factor in the decision.

Insider: Seahawks sale shouldn’t affect a Witherspoon extension

In an article Saturday by PFT editor Mike Florio, he wrote that a “source with knowledge of the situation” said the Khosla group had serious competition in bidding for the Seahawks from a group led by Boston Celtics limited partner Aditya Mittal, with the two sides “going back and forth, like an auction.”

The Seahawks’ present owner, the Paul G. Allen Estate led by team chair Jody Allen, eventually chose to sell the franchise to the Khosla group for the record figure of $9.612 billion. But it may not have just been about the money.

PFT reported that the source said one factor that helped decide the sale is that Khosla plans to name his wife, Neeru Khosla, as the controlling owner, which “appealed” to Jody Allen, who became the first female chairperson in Seahawks history when she took over the franchise when her brother died in 2018.

Florio wrote that PFT asked a Paul G. Allen Estate spokesperson if designating Neeru Khosla was a factor in the group the team was sold to, to which the spokesperson responded that the organization has “nothing to share beyond the statement we released last week about reaching a sale agreement with the Khosla family.”

The NFL places high importance on teams designating a controlling owner, a role that comes with the power to vote on league matters. Controlling owners must also identify each year a person who would replace them in the event of death or incapacitation.

More on the Seattle Seahawks sale

• What Seahawks should hope for with new ownership
• Khosla-led group seen as good match for Seahawks’ ‘culture’
• Wickersham: Seahawks brass had ‘really good feel’ for Khosla family
• Seattle Seahawks sold: What to know about the Khosla family

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