Vinod Khosla Takes Over Seahawks For $9.6 Billion, Jokes About Cardiac Test After First Win

India-West News Desk

SEATTLE, WA – Vinod Khosla has taken charge of the Seattle Seahawks with a simple message for the football operation that brought the franchise its latest championship: keep doing what is working.

Khosla, the Indian American billionaire, technology investor and founder of Khosla Ventures, said he has no intention of using his arrival as controlling owner to overhaul a team that is coming off a Super Bowl victory. Instead, he plans to give the Seahawks’ existing management room to make the football decisions while the new ownership provides support and oversight.

‘We do have great management,’ Khosla said September 9 at his first press conference as owner at Lumen Field. ‘They got us to the Super Bowl.’

The remarks came less than a week after the Khosla family formally completed its purchase of the Seahawks for $9.6 billion. NFL owners unanimously approved the transaction August 26, and the sale closed September 3, transferring control of the franchise from the Allen estate.

Khosla appeared at the press conference with his wife, Neeru Khosla, and their son, Neal Khosla. Under the new ownership structure, Vinod Khosla serves as Chair, Neeru Khosla is Controlling Owner and President of the Seahawks Charitable Foundation, and Neal Khosla is Vice Chair.

The group also includes minority investor Sunny Gupta, an entrepreneur and investor who founded Thira and serves as Executive Chair at Smartsheet.

For Khosla, the timing of the purchase presents an unusual advantage. He is taking over a franchise immediately after it reached the top of the NFL, rather than inheriting a team in need of a rebuild.

‘By the way, how often do you get to buy a team that just won the Super Bowl?’ Khosla said.

The opening of the Khosla era then moved immediately from the press conference to the field.

Khosla remained at Lumen Field for the Seahawks’ season opener against the New England Patriots, watching his newly acquired team overcome an early setback when quarterback Sam Darnold left with an injury on Seattle’s opening drive.

The Seahawks ultimately prevailed 13-10, giving Khosla a victory in his first game as owner and extending the momentum surrounding the franchise into the new ownership era.

The experience appeared to make an immediate impression on Khosla. After the game, he posted on social media: ‘I’m going to get a cardiac test before the next Seahawks game. The team and 12s won it tonight. Hard to imagine a better roller coaster.’