Two front-runners have emerged in the battle to buy the Seahawks, Front Office Sports has learned.
Leading the pack is one group featuring current Celtics minority owner Aditya Mittal and former Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck, and another led by 49ers minority investor Vinod Khosla, according to three sources familiar with the matter. One of the two groups features at least one former Seahawks player, two sources say, although the player’s identity was not disclosed and it was not clear which group they are involved with.
One source says it is down to just those two groups. However, another source cautioned that even if that’s the case, it remains possible a new bidder could still emerge—that’s what happened with the Clippers in 2014, when Steve Ballmer, late in the compressed sale process, swooped in with a $2 billion offer that was accepted. Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, headquartered about 30 minutes from Seattle, previously tried to buy the Sacramento Kings in 2013 and planned to move the team to Seattle. He has not been named as a suitor for the Seahawks.
Some sources say the level of interest in the 2026 Super Bowl champion has not been as high as expected, while others say there has been plenty of interest. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in May disputed the notion that interest has been soft. Regardless, what’s clear is the list of suitors vying for the Seahawks has whittled following a recent deadline to submit bids, and sources expect further news on the sale process next month.
Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who had been considering a bid, removed himself from the field, one source says. Todd Boehly, who another source had said was interested, is no longer in the running, according to a different source. ESPN first reported Apostolopoulos as a potential suitor, although he denied interest. The interest from Boehly—who also co-owns the Dodgers, Lakers, and Chelsea FC—was first reported by Semafor. Sportico first reported Grousbeck and Mittal were preparing a bid, and it also first reported Khosla’s interest. At least one other unidentified suitor submitted an offer and has been informed they were taken out of the running, a source tells FOS.
A representative for the Paul G. Allen Estate, which is the seller, tells FOS “there is no news to share about the sale process.”
The Khosla family acquired a minority stake in the 49ers last spring and would be required to sell that interest if it successfully buys the Seahawks. Vinod Khosla, founder of venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures, has a net worth of nearly $14 billion, according to Forbes. Wyc Grousbeck’s individual net worth is not clear; but the Grousbeck family has a net worth of about $2.2 billion, Forbes says. The individual net worth of Mittal, CEO of Indian steel giant ArcelorMittal, was not clear, but Forbes pegs his family’s net worth at more than $17 billion. Mittal contributed $1 billion to the total $6.1 billion Celtics sale last year led by Bill Chisholm. A source told FOS at the time that Mittal was likely to be the second-largest Celtics stakeholder and might be the team’s alternate governor in the future.
Record Sale?
Experts are mixed on what the Seahawks might fetch, with estimates between $8 billion and $10 billion or more. Regardless, it is widely expected to break the record set by the $6.05 billion sale of the Commanders in 2023 to a group led by Josh Harris. Multiple minority stakes in teams have been sold since then at higher franchise valuations. In September of last year, the New York Giants sold a 10% stake to Julia Koch and members of her billionaire family at a $10 billion valuation, and last March the Dolphins sold a 1% stake to Chinese American technology entrepreneur Lin Bin at a reported $12.5 billion valuation.
“I think we’re going to see some startling numbers,” Irwin Kishner, co-chair of the sports law group at Herrick Feinstein, tells FOS. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit something like $9.5 billion.”
Representatives for Allen & Co., the investment bank running the sale process; Latham & Watkins, the legal adviser to the Allen Estate; and the NFL all declined to comment.
Representatives for Khosla, Grousbeck, Mittal, Apostolopoulos, and Boehly did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
