Fans of the Seattle Seahawks have reacted with anger to the news that the franchise is being sold to a group led by San Francisco 49ers minority owner Vinod Khosla.
On Saturday 11 July, it was confirmed that the estate of Paul G. Allen had agreed to a sale – reportedly worth a record $9.6billion.
A statement from Seahawks read: “The Estate of Paul G. Allen today announced it has entered into a formal sale agreement with an ownership group led by the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla, for the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise. The Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owner.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks. We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.
“Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction remains subject to NFL approval in the months ahead.”
The news of a record sale in the NFL did not go down very well on social media platform X.
Fans fume as Seahawks sold for record price
One fan wrote: “Complete and utter joke. We let the enemy buy the team and now we’re going to be purposefully destroyed from the inside out. Idiotic thinking from the board and estate.”
Another added: “Crazy you win a Super Bowl and sell off a team. How many times has that been done?”
This supporter said: “We literally sold our team to a partner of our division rival. I’m at a loss for words.”
“I hate it,” said another supporter.
“Awful news,” read another response.
Fans were uncomfortable with the idea that the group had been sold to a party already within the NFL, particularly after enjoying such success recently.
The sale is still subject to the NFL’s approval, though it does stand to break the record set when the Washington Commanders were sold for $6.05billion back in 2023.
The Allen estate began the process of a sale just ten days after the Seahawks beat the New England Patriots to win their second Super Bowl in three decades under their previous ownership model.
Allen bought the Seahawks from Ken Behring in 1997 and kept the team in Seattle when there had previously been plans to move them to Anaheim, California.
The group has been led by the Khosla family and ESPN claim they will be made to give up their ownership stake in the 49ers.
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