SEATTLE — National Football League owners are meeting in Atlanta today to vote on the proposed sale of the Seattle Seahawks to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.
The purchase price for the franchise is just over $9.6 billion, marking a record figure for an NFL team.
If approved, the new ownership group will include Khosla, his wife, Neeru, and, most likely, his son, Neal, in some sort of team role, according to a Seahawks beat writer.
The franchise plays its home games at Lumen Field and draws support across the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Canada.
Gregg Bell, a longtime Seahawks beat writer for the Tacoma News Tribune, noted that the franchise is not expected to relocate despite concerns from some fans.
Bell contrasted the situation with previous sports team sales in the region, most notably the Seattle Supersonics.
“This is totally different; this is not an unloading of a franchise for profit like it was Howard Schulz and the Sonics, this isn’t selling it to someone who has a known arena,” Bell said.
Bell added that he suspects the owners’ vote could be unanimous.
The prospective ownership group could also bring technological and venue updates to the team.
Bell noted that Neal Khosla could help introduce advanced data tools and artificial intelligence to the some of the organization’s operations.
“Neal might be the one who brings the AI into the Seahawks; that’s something the Seahawks want to catch up on,” Bell said to KIRO 7 News reporter Ranji Sinha.
Beyond technology, stadium upgrades at Lumen Field could also be under consideration.
“I could see the Khoslas modernizing the stadium. I could see them adding permanent seats to the downtown north end the Hawk’s nest,” Bell said.
Adding permanent seating in that area could push the stadium capacity beyond 70,000.
Local business owners near the stadium have felt the financial impact of the franchise’s success.
Justin “Juice” Andrews, owner of Hall Group restaurants including the Hall on Occidental, described how fan turnout during home playoff runs drives game-day revenue, saying some of the business during the Hawks playoff games was four times larger than the usual averages for the business.
“Just those days we’ll see a fanbase on a playoff game but when it’s the home team it’s very different We had to turn people away to come in,” Andrews said.
Following the vote, Bell expects the NFL will take about a week to vet the $9.6 billion payment.
Once the vetting process is complete, the Khosla family will be formally introduced as the new owners.
That announcement could come in about a week, around Sept. 8 or on Sept. 9, when the Seahawks open their season against the New England Patriots in a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl, according to Bell, though he admits it is up to the NFL and depends on how long the process takes to account for the sale price.