Seahawks sale a record by over $3 billion, plus 32 breakout players to watch
The World Cup’s been fun, but I’m counting down the days (58) until Week 1, when the Patriots visit the $9.6 billion-dollar Seahawks.
Inside: Meet the Seahawks’ new owners after a record-setting sale, plus one breakout player for every team … and why Jacksonville might quietly field a top-five offense. Let’s go.
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Seattle Seahawks: Smart time to sell
On Saturday, the Paul Allen Estate announced an agreement to sell the Super Bowl champs for $9.6 billion.
The announcement comes nearly three decades after the late Allen, who made his money with Microsoft, purchased the franchise in 1997. Allen paid $194 million and kept the team in Seattle, and his estate was rewarded with an enormous return, as the Seahawks essentially grew in value by 13.1 percent each year since.
The price tag definitely suggests you’ll need to overpay, whenever you get around to making your NFL franchise purchase. Maybe we could all pool together?
Every year, Forbes assigns a value to each of the 32 teams, based on things like stadium deals and branding. In the latest valuation, conducted a couple months before the Super Bowl, the Seahawks ranked 14th, valued at $6.7 billion:
The Seahawks sold for nearly $3 billion over that price, a 43 percent premium above the valuation.
There are only 32 teams, after all, and they rarely come up for sale. This is just the third time since 2022 that a controlling interest in an NFL team was sold, with a notable jump in price:
- The Commanders were sold for a then-record $6.05 billion in 2023.
- The Broncos were sold for … you guessed it … a then-record $4.65 billion in 2022.
So who bought the Seahawks? The family of Vinod Khosla, who co-founded IT business Sun Microsystems, which was sold to Oracle for $7.4 billion in 2010. His wife Neeru will be the controlling owner, likely making her the first minority woman to have sole control of an NFL franchise. The purchase isn’t official yet, however, as league owners will meet in August to approve the deal, ESPN has reported.
Do they have experience? Sort of. The Khosla family purchased a minority interest in the rival 49ers in 2025, which they will now have to sell, per league rules.
And while the purchase price is a record for the NFL, it’s not a record for an American sports franchise. Do you know which team set that record? Hint: It was $10 billion. Click here for the answer.
Trending 📈: 2026 breakouts
Have you ever thought that something should happen, maybe a business idea you wish existed or a free agent your team should sign, and then seen that exact thing take place?
This year, I’m thinking (hoping?) we get to watch the emergence of Bears receiver Luther Burden III. And I’m not alone.
Chicago head coach Ben Johnson said this in May: “I’m buying Luther Burden stock right now,” calling the sophomore’s growth “electric.”
Coach praise can be a hallmark of a player on the rise. Burden has other signals, too:
As a rookie, he ranked third among qualifying receivers in yards per route run (2.69), behind only Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while rarely playing more than 50 percent of the snaps in each game.
This offseason, the Bears cleared the second-rounder’s path to targets by trading D.J. Moore to Buffalo and letting slot receiver Olamide Zaccheaus walk in free agency.
It’s why Burden’s one of 32 breakout players that my colleagues at The Athletic highlight in today’s story. The full list:
Burden might be the most obvious pick, given his situation.
On the opposite end are two lesser-known upstarts to watch. These are two players whose games I was not familiar enough with. They are worth knowing, so we can later tell our friends that we called this back in July!
Vikings DT Jalen Redmond: A 27-year-old former XFLer whom Minnesota signed seemingly on a whim, Redmond had six sacks and recovered two fumbles in 2025. He fills the void left by vets Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave.
Broncos OLB Que Robinson: Who? I’d never admit not knowing a player, but I had to do a double take on this one. Here’s Nick Kosmider, our Broncos beat reporter:
💬 “A 2025 fourth-round pick out of Alabama, Robinson played sparingly as a rookie on Denver’s deep defense. He made a lasting impression during his appearance in the AFC Championship Game by chasing down Drake Maye for a sack.
“Robinson was already trending toward a bigger role on the edge in Year 2, but that will especially be the case if Jonathon Cooper faces an NFL suspension following two June arrests.” More on that situation here.
The full story has a breakout for all 32 teams, including the latest Packers receiver to watch.
Extra Points
👀 Breakout offenses. Ted Nguyen shares the five offenses poised to shine in 2026. This blurb on Jacksonville convinced me: The Jaguars averaged 20.86 points per game before their Week 8 bye. They scored 32.8 points after, ranking second in that span.
👤 Terrion Arnold update. The former Lion cornerback could land with another team — his agent said four are interested — after a judge ruled that the free agent does not have to wear an ankle monitor in connection with his ongoing case.
↩️ Commanders retiring No. 44. John Riggins, Washington’s all-time leader in carries (1,988), rushing yards (7,472) and rushing touchdowns (79), will have his jersey retired this season.
🏥 Kneeland diagnosis. Researchers at Boston University diagnosed late Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). More details here.
▶️ Thursday’s most-clicked: 77.6 percent of you agreed that popcorn is an amazing snack. The remainder of your fellow readers are wrong. Also popular: Jake Ciely’s 2026 breakout quarterbacks.
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