‘Zero questions’ for NFL’s $13.6bn newest owner who fires back after support questioned

Vinod Khosla may be the new owner of the Seattle Seahawks, but his heart also lies with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the $9.6 billion sale of the reigning Super Bowl champions to a group led by the billionaire venture capitalist.

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But during his first press conference as the new owner, Khosla may feel that he made a mistake when openly admitting that he is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

“I happened to come to this country in 1976 when the Steelers were winning Super Bowls,” Khosla revealed.

“So actually, I was originally, and still am, a big Steelers fan, also. A little-known fact, but I still watch all the Steelers games.”

These comments, perhaps expectedly, were picked up by mass media outlets, who were very quick to use Khosla’s admission as a soundbite, and give their own opinions.

Barstool Sports took to social media platform X, posting a clip with the caption: “What not to do during your opening press conference as the new Seahawks owner? Reveal you’ve been a Steelers fan your whole life and still watch all of their games.”

Of course, there’s no denying history – the Steelers were an absolute football juggernaut in the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls with Terry Bradshaw under center as the quarterback during their decade of dominance.

With Indian-born Khosla emigrating to the United States in 1976 to do an MBA at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon, it makes sense why he would become enamoured with the Steelers.

Nonetheless, it was still a very strange admission to make when you have just purchased an NFL team who don’t don the Steelers name.

But the 71-year-old has since hit back at reporters.

“Reporters will make every molehill into a mountain just to get column inches to write or video minutes,” he wrote on X in response to Barstool’s post.

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“What’s wrong with admitting my 1976-78 period in Pittsburgh (CMU) got me excited about the NFL? I still watch their games, doesn’t mean I won’t unconditionally ALWAYS as owner, want the [Seahawks] to win and have every edge up, EVERY TIME over every other team!!!!

“Zero questions!!! At the other end is a set of teams I always want to lose every advantage. But happy to have the sports writer getting more column inches and fill their pages. You are welcome. Apologies in advance for my very transparent style.”

Khosla opens up on plans for future

Prior to purchasing the Seahawks from the Paul G. Allen estate, Khosla was a non-controlling, limited partner of Seattle’s NFC West rivals San Francisco 49ers – although has had to give up his shares in order to accommodate his new purchase.

“He’s been a big fan of sports and in particular football, so he’s wanted forever to get involved in actually strategizing,” Khosla’s wife Neeru, who will serve as the team’s controlling owner, said.

“So he’s the one who actually really pushed us into doing this. He’s worked really hard so I’m very proud of him.”

Khosla is fully focused on committing to the Seahawks, and doing what he can to ensure they continue to remain in Super Bowl contention for years to come.

“The task ahead is actually pretty simple — keep the winning streak alive, get another Super Bowl,” he said. “That simple.

“In general, our approach is generally going to be long-termed focused. That’s our inclination always. So, keep winning, take a long-term approach and learn a lot.

“We don’t know enough. … The other owners have been incredibly welcoming and willing to teach us, and so we’ll learn a lot.

“We’ll learn a lot from management and see what they are recommending. So we’ll just be in learning mode for quite some time.”