Ownership members from Celtics, 49ers preparing bids to buy Seahawks

Members of ownership groups of the Boston Celtics and San Francisco 49ers were each reported Thursday morning as preparing bids to buy the Seattle Seahawks.

Aditya Mittal, an investor in the group that officially bought the Boston Celtics last August, and Wyc Grousbeck, the former lead owner of the Celtics, are preparing a bid to purchase the Seattle Seahawks, according to a report from Sportico.com Thursday morning.

The report, citing unnamed sources, stated that the two were "the only signatures on a letter of interest that was submitted to Allen & Company, the investment banking team chosen by Estate of Paul G. Allen to lead the sale process.

Shortly after that report broke, Sportico also reported Thursday morning that Vinod Khosla, a billionaire who co-founded Sun Microsystems and is a minority owner of the San Francisco 49ers, is also "prepping a bid" to buy the Seahawks.

According to Sportico, Khosla recently submitted a letter of intent as part of the process. Sportico reported that he is worth about $14.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Khosla and his family acquired a 3.1% stake in the 49ers in May, 2025 joining with two other local families in acquiring noncontrolling minority interests in the team.

The reports are the first substantiated of potential bids for the Seahawks since they were officially placed on sale on Feb. 18.

A report last week that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook could each be preparing bids was denied by both parties.

Sportico reported that the Seahawks stated they had "no news to share" about the process and that none of the potential owners had comment.

Contacted via e-mail by The Seattle Times, Grousbeck also declined to comment.

Mittal, 50, is the CEO of ArcelorMittal, a steel company based in Luxembourg founded by his father Lakshmi, and the heir of one of the richest families in India.

According to Sportico, Mittal contributed about $1 billion to the group led by Bill Chisholm that purchased the Boston Celtics in 2025 from the former ownership group led by Grousbeck and his father, Irving, and holds the official title of alternate governors with Grousbeck.

Grousbeck, 64, founded the group that purchased the Celtics in 2002 and is reportedly remaining part of the ownership group through 2028 to assure a smooth transition.

The Sportico report stated that "since Mittal lives in London, Grousbeck would reside in Seattle part-time and effectively operate the franchise."

Paul Allen purchased the Seahawks for $194 million in 1997 and remained owner until his death in October 2018. His sister, Jody, became the executor of his estate and remained running the Seahawks with the title of the team's chair.

The team announced in a statement in February it is being placed for sale. Projections are the Seahawks could fetch anywhere from $8 billion to $11 billion and break the record for the most paid for an NFL team - currently held by the Washington Commanders at $6.05 billion in 2023 - and possibly become the highest-selling pro team in American sports history, besting the $10 billion of the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers last October.

The group led by Wyc Grousbeck bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Irv Grousbeck was reported to have a controlling share of the team at 20% with Wyc Grousbeck owning 3%.

A report from The New York Post in September 2024 stated that Irv Grousbeck, who turns 92 in July, urged the sale of the Celtics due to rising costs, tied in part to Wyc Grousbeck approving a few rich player contracts, including a $314 million extension to star guard Jayson Tatum that had the team facing a projected $280 million luxury tax penalty for the 2025-26 season. The Celtics were the first team to sell after the NBA signed its current 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal.

Wyc Grousbeck denied that in a statement to the Post that read: "The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations. To say the sale is in any way related to losses is completely incorrect. There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team, and we don't anticipate there being one."

The Celtics won NBA titles in 2008 and 2024 while the Grousbeck group owned the team.

Sportico described ArcelorMittal as worth $62 billion in revenue and deemed it "one of the world's largest steel and mining companies." Sportico noted that Lakshmi Mittal recently reached a deal to buy the Rajasthan Royals, an Indian cricket franchise, for about $1.65 billion.

Aditya Mittal was born in India and raised in Indonesia before attending the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. He succeeded his father as CEO of ArcelorMittal in 2021.

At a news conference last September, Mittal described how he became a fan of the Celtics.

"As some of you may guess, I was born in India, but I lived in (and) grew up in Indonesia, which is miles away from Boston, maybe 8,000 miles away," he said. "But I had the chance to visit Boston in the late '80s. I went to a game in the old (Boston) Garden. It was magical. I mean, I fell in love with it.

"And when I heard from Wyc that he's thinking of expanding the partnership, I thought it was a phenomenal opportunity," said Mittal. "As all of you know, Wyc has been a tremendous leader. He's a phenomenal role model. He really took the Celtics to new heights, and we're so happy that he's continuing in this partnership with us. And he introduced me to Bill (Chisholm)."

A story on 49ers.com last July reported that the Khosla family purchase of a share of the team was "led by Neal Khosla and his father Vinod."

According to that story, Vinod Khosla said it was "not a long conversation" when asked about joining the ownership group of the 49ers.

"Neal and I have had season tickets since he was probably five, and we've come to games together," he was quoted as saying. "It's probably one of the best things we do, supporting for over 25 years. (The decision) was pretty easy."

According to the Sportico story, "Khosla was born in India and came to the U.S. in his early 20s. He earned an MBA from Stanford and co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982, serving as the tech company's first CEO. His VC career started at Kleiner Perkins, and he launched Khosla Ventures in 2004. His firm's notable exits include Affirm, Opendoor and DoorDash, all of which went public.

NFL rules require a controlling owner to hold at least 30% of the team with an ownership group of no more than 25. The NFL two years ago approved that private equity can also account for up to a 10% stake.

Ownership changes must be approved by 24 of the league's 32 owners.

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 9:39 AM.