Billionaire Vinod Khosla Wins Auction for NFL Team
Sportico.com • • sports
Key Points:
- Tech billionaire Vinod Khosla has agreed to purchase the Seattle Seahawks for $9.6 billion, marking one of the highest valuations ever for a sports team in a control transaction.
- Khosla, worth about $13.7 billion, is buying the team from the estate of late owner Paul Allen, beating out other bidders including billionaire Aditya Mittal.
- The deal structure and financing details remain unclear, but NFL rules require the control owner to hold at least 30% equity and limit debt to $1.5 billion.
- Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and a prominent venture capitalist, will need to sell his stake in the San Francisco 49ers if the Seahawks purchase closes.
- The Seahawks' sale follows the recent $4.1 billion sale of the Portland Trail Blazers, also from Allen’s estate, which is selling sports assets to benefit charitable causes.
