Welcome to the Neighborhood

Day 194. Seattle has a particular way of welcoming people. Tonight, it involved falling behind New England, losing our starting quarterback, and making everyone wait until the final seconds to breathe. Seahawks 13, Patriots 10. Three fourth-quarter interceptions. Welcome, Khoslas. This is sometimes how we relax. AP

If you’re celebrating the win while wondering who exactly just bought the team, here’s the introduction.

The Khosla family’s ownership group closed its $9.612 billion purchase on September 3. Vinod Khosla is the chair, his wife Neeru is the controlling owner, and their son Neal is vice chair. That’s the family taking over from Paul Allen’s estate, at the highest price ever paid for an NFL franchise. Reuters

Their story comes through India and Silicon Valley. Vinod grew up in an Indian Army household and studied electrical engineering in Delhi before coming to the United States for graduate school at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford. He co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982, became an investor at Kleiner Perkins, and started Khosla Ventures in 2004. His fortune grew out of building technology companies and backing others, with investments spanning computing, energy, healthcare, and artificial intelligence. Khosla Ventures

Neeru brings a different background. Raised in India and England, she studied molecular biology and co-founded the nonprofit CK-12 Foundation, which provides free educational resources. She’ll also lead the Seahawks Charitable Foundation. There’s a meaningful opportunity there to make the family’s arrival matter to children who may never get a ticket to Lumen Field. Biography, CK-12

Neal helped drive the family’s interest in buying the team. His mother credits his enthusiasm for football and desire to get involved. The family also arrives with previous ties to the 49ers, which I’m willing to treat as a correctable error in judgment. Introductory remarks

They’ve already announced white throwback uniforms for 2027. Somebody’s doing the homework. Announcement

Of course, the Allen name means something here. Paul helped keep the Seahawks in Seattle. Jody carried that stewardship forward after his death. The new owners are inheriting decades of attachment that no purchase agreement can fully describe. The ownership transition

I hope the Khoslas enjoy getting to know this place. Show up. Listen. Invest in the team and trust the people who know football. Let the community work become something families can point to.

Tonight, we got a win and a reason to introduce ourselves. Welcome to the neighborhood, Khoslas. Cheers to a good start. Go Hawks.