Vinod Khosla’s charmed existence as an NFL owner was on full display Wednesday afternoon when the league’s 31 other owners unanimously approved his family’s bid to buy the Seattle Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion.

Piece of cake.

Khosla, best known for co-founding Sun Microsystems, serving as a partner at Kleiner Perkins, and as the founder of Khosla Ventures⁠, one of the world’s leading venture capital firms, is worth a reported $13.7 billion.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stands at the podium during a press conference

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the media during the Super Bowl Winning Team Head Coach and MVP Press Conference at the Mandalay Bay North Convention Center on Feb. 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

“You have great timing,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said, addressing Khosla during a press conference. “It’s not very often you can buy a Super Bowl championship team, but you’ve done that.

“Many of our owners struggle to find ways to get into a Super Bowl and win a trophy, and you’ll be walking into your new building shortly with a fresh, shiny trophy there for you.”

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Khosla, the new guy, wasn’t about to argue

Vinod Khosla speaks during a news conference at an NFL owners meeting in Atlanta.

Seattle Seahawks owner Vinod Khosla speaks during a news conference at an NFL football owners meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

.”We’re huge fans of football,” Khosla said, “and these opportunities, especially Super Bowl winning teams, seldom come along, so we were very excited to have the opportunity.”

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What happened on Wednesday is evidence of how much the NFL has changed from its founding and even from what it was before the price of franchises rocketed.

This league was started by football men.

These people knew the game. Sometimes, they both owned and coached teams as George Halas and Paul Brown did. And that was the stamp the game wore for decades.

Eventually, football men like Brown, Halas, Art Rooney, Lamar Hunt and others passed their teams down to their families whose primary business was, well, football.

Art and Dan Rooney and Roger Goodell stand with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in Arlington, Texas in 2011.

Pittsburgh Steelers owners Art Rooney II and Dan Rooney stand with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in Arlington, Texas in 2011. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

But since the turn of the century, the ownership pool has changed to mostly rich guys — billionaires — with minimal football credentials.

And because knowledge of the sport is barely a qualifying requirement for purchase while their ability to pay is what’s most important, you have fallout.

So, you get owners like Stephen Ross, who knows real estate development but has shown no ability to build a champion in Miami.

You get Jimmy Haslam, who founded a truck stop empire but hasn’t been able to find a quarterback in Cleveland.

Former Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya at a 2021 news conference.

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, left, and his wife Tanya Snyder, listen to head coach Ron Rivera during a news conference at the team’s NFL football training facility in Ashburn, Va., on Jan. 2, 2020, photo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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And you get Dan Snyder, who made his fortune in marketing and communication, but as the Washington Redskins and Commanders owner, didn’t get the message that he was pointing a legacy franchise toward infamy that included an embarrassing congressional hearing.

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Khosla, born in India in 1955, doesn’t immediately suggest he’s going to be like the other billionaires who have struggled. But we know he’s not really a football man, either.

Even he admits that.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly hold up uniform after announcing Chiefs move to Kansas.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly hold up uniform after announcing Chiefs move to Kansas. (Kansas City Chiefs)

“The task ahead is actually pretty simple — keep the winning streak alive, get another Super Bowl.” Khosla said. “That’s simple. In general, our approach is generally going to be long-term focused, that’s our inclination always.

“So, keep winning, take a long-term approach, and learn a lot. We don’t know enough. And the other owners have been incredibly welcoming and willing to teach us, so we’ll learn a lot.

“We’ll learn from management and see what they are recommending. We’ll just be in learning mode for quite some time.”

FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO


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Shin John
Shin JohnYtv Market News
Share-market news writer and analyst with deep experience covering equities, commodities, forex, and cryptocurrencies for readers in the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia. Ytv Market News delivers timely market updates, practical trading insights, and clear explanations of macro and company-level catalysts that move prices. Combines on-the-ground financial reporting with technical analysis, using concise charts and actionable ideas to help investors and traders make smarter decisions.
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