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A little more than six months after the Seattle Seahawks won the Lombardi Trophy, the Khosla family will win the Seattle Seahawks.
NFL team owners will travel to Atlanta, where they will vote Wednesday to approve Vinod and Neeru Khosla as the new owners of the reigning Super Bowl champions. The in-person vote, which serves as a coronation of sorts for the Khosla family, comes at a special league meeting created almost exclusively for this event.
Though the Khoslas have been understood as the Seahawks’ next owners for more than a month, the belief around the league is that no major changes with the Seattle organization will take place imminently.
“This has been them getting in the building,” said one league source, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss an ownership situation publicly. “They’re not doing anything until they get in the building.”
Inside the Khosla family’s agreement to purchase the Seahawks
Nicki Jhabvala
On July 11, the Seahawks announced the Paul G. Allen estate had reached an agreement with the Khoslas to sell the franchise for an NFL record $9.612 billion. The team had been operated by Allen’s sister, Jody, since his death in 2018, and there had been some consternation within the league regarding the delay in moving the team to market.
The Seahawks are only the third NFL team to sell in the past decade, following Carolina’s $2.275 billion sale to David Tepper in 2018 and the Commanders going to Josh Harris for roughly $6 billion two years ago. The league believed the sale would eclipse $8 billion, but it didn’t quite hit the $10 billion mark that had been whispered at the May meetings in Orlando.
Vinod was an early investor in Google and has made a number of investments in AI. Forbes recently listed him as one of America’s great innovators. Neeru and Vinod met in India as children, and she went on to earn two master’s degrees, including one in molecular biology. Neeru will be the controlling owner of the Seahawks, while their son, Neal, is expected to have a major role in the team.
The bones of the football operation are, obviously, strong. GM John Schneider signed an extension two years ago that has him locked in through 2031. Mike Macdonald, the third-youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl, signed a six-year deal in 2024.
Typically, new NFL owners are not quick to meddle with the team. The recent trend has been for owners to observe for a season before making any massive, sweeping changes. Earlier this month, a fan tagged Vinod in an X post hoping the new owner would put natural grass down at Lumen Field. Vinod responded.
The issue of the stadium could come up sooner rather than later in Seattle. Lumen Field opened in 2002, making it nearly a quarter-century old. This is roughly the time when NFL stadiums either undergo major renovation or get swapped out for a new model.
The Seahawks’ lease with the city of Seattle runs through 2032, and there are multiple 10-year options afterward. Surely the Khoslas will be asked about the stadium’s future on Wednesday, though don’t expect much in the way of a substantive response.
The Seahawks sale should be the highlight of the one-day meetings, but here’s a look at what else could/should/will/will not be discussed:
Why Terrion Arnold isn’t a Seahawk yet
Speaking of the Seahawks, their would-be cornerback Terrion Arnold is still not officially signed. Arnold is facing kidnapping and armed robbery charges that carry a potential life sentence. Macdonald said on Aug. 14 the team had an agreement in place to sign Arnold, who was released by the Detroit Lions in June. Some believe Arnold will be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at some point after he is signed, disallowing him from participating in regular-season games until his October court date, at the earliest.
One team and one league source, each speaking on condition of anonymity since neither is authorized to discuss the deal publicly, told The Athletic they believe Arnold will be signed around or after the final preseason game is played this weekend. It is unclear why the wait is necessary, though timing appears to be the root cause.
If the Seahawks believed Arnold would be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list as soon as he’s signed, he would not count against the 90-man roster and would be eligible to practice and play in preseason games, getting valuable preparation for if and when he is able to play this year. If he were not on the exempt list immediately, Arnold would count against the team’s 90-man roster and, presumably, 53-man roster after cutdown day on Aug. 30. That would mean he would take up a valuable roster spot when the strong assumption is he won’t be eligible to play Week 1.
Another potential issue is “Hard Knocks.” The HBO series, produced by NFL Films, has already captured the Seahawks discussing the future transaction, with Schneider admitting they “probably” would have released Arnold if they were in the Lions’ position. Hard Knocks typically concludes its season with an episode focused on roster cutdowns. If Arnold isn’t on the team when filming wraps, the Seahawks and the league can avoid having the storyline play out on camera.
If the Seahawks wait until after final roster cuts, there will be no cameras and no roster gymnastics. Seattle could sign Arnold to the practice squad, where he could sit until there is further clarity from the league regarding the exempt list. Either way, waiting until after roster cuts — at this point — makes the most sense when it comes to building the most competitive roster for Week 1 against the Patriots.
Goodell’s deal
Roger Goodell has been the NFL commissioner since September 2006 and no one I have spoken to doubts he will be the commissioner for years to come. But his contract runs out in March, and for nearly a year there have been whispers that his extension is coming soon.
Goodell plays his contract close to the vest. It’s complex, I’m told, and he’s not keen on sharing details at the water cooler. He signed a three-year extension in Oct. 2023, when his previous deal was set to expire the following spring, so a lack of a deal at this point isn’t necessarily unusual.
On one hand, the league could announce a contract at this meeting since it will be the one covered by the fewest journalists — Goodell would likely appreciate the lack of fanfare. On the other hand, since this day is for the Khosla family, it’s unlikely the commish wants to take the spotlight off them.
The October meetings would be a perfect time for the league to announce the deal everyone expects. Goodell isn’t slowing down, and he surely views the league’s media deals and the next CBA as part of his legacy. He would need at least a four-year extension to ensure he’s around for the expiration of the current CBA, which ends in March 2031, when he will be 72.
Falcons private-equity shares
The infusion of private-equity cash into the NFL will continue, but it might not come up for a vote this week. CNBC first reported the Atlanta Falcons will sell 10 percent of the team at a valuation of $10.6 billion to Arctos. I cannot confirm those numbers, but I am told any transaction is more likely to occur at the October meetings than this one.
Arctos has been pre-approved by the league for years to buy into clubs. The group owns shares of the Chargers, Bills and, as recently as this spring, the Browns. If Blank is good with the terms, a vote will be a formality, according to a league source, speaking on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.
Blank has a vast and growing sports portfolio that also includes an MLS team, a TGL team, a future NWSL team all while operating Mercedes-Benz Stadium, one of the busiest venues in America and the site of Super Bowl LXII in Feb. 2028.
It seems that, just like the rest of us, Blank will have to wait just a while longer for his cool $1 billion to come through.
Clock ticks on Bears stadium
I expect Goodell will have to address what’s going on with the future Bears stadium. The commissioner has yet to announce his preference, allowing the Bears to do much of the talking. Bears CEO and president Kevin Warren knows time is ticking on getting shovels in the ground either in Indiana or Illinois, but I don’t expect a significant development on the stadium this week.
The Jed York arrest
49ers CEO Jed York’s weekend arrest will come up in Goodell’s post-meetings news conference. On Sunday, in East Palestine, Ohio, police arrested York on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools. The fourth-degree disorderly conduct charge was originally listed as engaging in prostitution before it was changed.
NFL team owners are subject to the league’s personal conduct policy, which prohibits “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in” the NFL. Goodell historically doesn’t say much when those owners and that policy intersect.
The league said on Monday the matter is under review. The 49ers said the legal matter is resolved and will not provide further comment. I would not expect Goodell will have much to add.
An international team: What’s real?
When Goodell made his comments in Germany that he expects an NFL team to be based internationally in the future, I did not get the sense he planned that. Still, it became a hot topic and will surely sizzle at this short meeting. When does Goodell want there to be an international team? Where would he prefer them to be located? Does adding one team mean adding multiple in expansion?
These are all great questions that I don’t anticipate he will answer, mostly because the entire concept is theoretical at best at this point — and, perhaps to a larger point, requires bargaining with the NFL Players Association. As the league and union continue amassing their respective war chests for the next CBA four-to-five years down the road, the last thing the league needs to do publicly is depict pipe dreams as front-burner issues.
Flag, too
You’ll continue to hear more about flag football, and team owners will be updated on the league’s continued growth there. There will also be an update on NFL player participation in the 2028 Olympics, though we are still months away from anything substantial taking place there.
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