Q: What’s the best way to get the Seahawks’ fan base to forget that the new owner is a Steelers fan who still watches all of their games?
A: Fail to unequivocally rule out the possibility of moving the team to a new city.
“I will never say never,” new owner Vinod Khosla told Dan Primack of Axios. “Will this team be in Seattle 500 years from now? But I have no current plans to change anything about the team, including the coach, president, operation or Lumen Field. It all functions well.”
The 500-year question is far less relevant than the six-year question. The team’s lease at Lumen Field expires in 2032.
Khosla may simply be playing the game of stadium politics. In order to get someone else to pay for major renovations or a new stadium, leverage must exist. If nothing else, “never say never” helps set the stage for an infusion of significant taxpayer money.
Besides, Khosla is still learning the ropes of being an owner.
“Three months ago I wasn’t even thinking about buying an NFL team,” Khosla said. “Now I ended up with a Super Bowl-winning team with one of the most amazing fan bases. But I know very little about running a team. I don’t think I’ll do anything but learn for a while.”
One thing Khosla may realize the hard way is a lesson that plenty of other anonymous billionaires turned NFL owners have learned: The only thing better than being rich and famous is being rich.
Khosla’s comments will make the fan base leery about the future. How can they not be? But they don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire of the billion-dollar gamesmanship over who’ll pay for the next Seahawks stadium.