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The Allen Era Ended Thursday Afternoon With a Press Release
It’s done. The Khosla family officially closed its purchase of the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday for $9.612 billion, eight days after the owners voted it through in Atlanta. Twenty-nine seasons of Paul Allen and his estate, four conference championships, two Lombardi Trophies, one franchise that stayed in Seattle because a man with money decided it should. That chapter closed at a desk, on a Thursday, in early September.
$9.612B
ESPN calls it a record purchase, the largest ever paid for an American sports franchise.
The titles came out with it. Vinod Khosla is chair, his wife Neeru is controlling owner and president of the team’s charitable foundation, and son Neal is vice chair. The family also announced a dozen co-owners, a list that starts with former Sequoia Capital managing partner Mark Stevens and runs through global private equity and institutional sports money. GeekWire noticed two Pacific Northwest names in there too: former Apptio CEO Sunny Gupta and investor Nader Naini. Local, technically.
Now the part nobody in Renton wants printed. The Khoslas bought 3.1% of the San Francisco 49ers last year, they are required to sell it, and they were not required to sell it before closing on us. Pro Football Rumors reported Thursday that they still own it, and Front Office Sports noted the 49ers get final say over who buys the stake. So the people who now own the defending Super Bowl champions also own a small slice of the team we beat in January to get there.
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Somewhere in a filing cabinet is a piece of paper saying the people who own the Seattle Seahawks also own a small slice of the San Francisco 49ers.
It is a rounding error on a $9.6 billion transaction. I don’t care. Get it sold.
Five days from now the banner goes up at Lumen Field with New England standing there watching, and the new owners get that as their first act. There are worse ways to be introduced to a city.
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Roster
Seattle Is Auditioning a Browns Receiver Five Days Before the Opener
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What it tells you is that the receiver room got thin in a hurry. Jake Bobo’s season ended on a knee in Nashville. Tory Horton has been out since camp, and while Mike Macdonald said the “injury isn’t a long-term thing,” per NBC Sports, this is an organization that kept Horton’s cracked tibia quiet for most of a season. Forgive the skepticism.
Behind JSN, Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed, the depth is names most of you would have to look up. Bringing in a guy who spent August torching backup corners in Ohio is not a panic move. It is a team counting bodies and not liking the number.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Veteran tackle Bobby Hart signed to the practice squad Thursday, with undrafted rookie defensive tackle Uso Seumalo released to clear the spot. Seattle now stockpiles swing tackles like canned goods. Somebody in that building has looked at the tackle depth chart and does not trust it. Seahawks.com
Sam Darnold landed at No. 21 on the NFL’s Top 100, a career best. That list is voted on by other players, which means several hundred guys who spent five years using him as a punchline filled out a ballot and put him in the top 25. Yahoo Sports
Guard Mason Richman is on season-ending injured reserve after the right leg injury in Nashville. He was starting at left guard that night. Rookie Beau Stephens is now the only listed reserve at both guard spots, which is a lot of trust in a fifth-round pick. ESPN
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Six days before they play a regular season game on another continent, the Rams’ official site published their jersey schedule. Royal five times, white eight times, two new alternates sprinkled in. The Midnight Rivalry set gets exactly one wearing all season: Week 16. That is Christmas night, at Lumen Field, against us. They have picked out the outfit for the house they are visiting. Bring a side dish too.
NINERS
San Francisco left the Bay Area late Wednesday night on what the AP calls the longest road trip in NFL history: roughly 8,000 miles, about 16 hours in the air, one international dateline. Wednesday departure, Friday arrival. They lost a full calendar day of their lives and have not run a single offensive play yet. We open at home, on grass we know, five days from now.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
After winning the overtime coin toss in the January 2004 wild-card game at Lambeau Field, Matt Hasselbeck told the referee, “We want the ball and we’re gonna score.” How did Seattle’s overtime possession actually end?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Al Harris intercepted him and returned it 52 yards for the touchdown, giving Green Bay a 33-27 win. Hasselbeck was correct that Seattle wanted the ball. The rest of the sentence has followed him around for two decades.
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Enjoy the weekend. Football on Wednesday. — The Rooster