The Seattle Seahawks aren’t expecting their record-setting ownership change to affect only the people signing the checks.
General manager John Schneider said the incoming Khosla ownership group’s expertise in artificial intelligence could help Seattle advance its work in three areas that directly touch football: medicine, scouting and coaching.
Schneider said during his August 30 press conference that the Seahawks have already discussed AI with the Khoslas multiple times, and he sees an opportunity for the defending Super Bowl champions to accelerate what they are already doing.
“If we want to be the franchise of the future, where can we take this thing?” Schneider said. “Whether it’s in the medical field, and scouting, and coaching — wherever — we’re going to do whatever we possibly can to just crush it with these people.”
It was one of Schneider’s most revealing comments yet about how Seattle could operate differently under its new ownership group.
John Schneider Believes Seahawks Can Take AI Work ‘to Another Level’
Schneider pushed back when asked whether the Seahawks are behind other NFL teams in their use of artificial intelligence.
“No,” Schneider said, although he joked that he “always” feels behind because that anxiety helps drive the organization.
Instead, Schneider indicated Seattle already has people working in the area. What excites him is adding the Khosla family’s expertise to that foundation.
“We’re doing a good job with it,” Schneider said, “but we can go way — you know, we could take this to another level in a pretty quick manner, I believe.”
Schneider did not explain precisely how the Seahawks plan to use AI in scouting, coaching or medicine, so it would be premature to assume specific applications.
But naming those departments is significant.
The comments suggest Seattle’s interest extends beyond front-office business operations and into areas that can influence player evaluation, preparation and health. Schneider also made clear this is something the organization has already discussed directly with the incoming owners rather than an idea he was considering hypothetically.
Khosla Family Brings Deep AI Background to Seahawks
Few NFL ownership changes have brought quite the same technology connection.
NFL owners unanimously approved the Khosla family’s purchase of the Seahawks on August 26. The $9.612 billion price is an NFL record, with the sale expected to close before Seattle opens the regular season against the New England Patriots on September 9.
Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems and later founded Khosla Ventures, which has made artificial intelligence one of its major investment areas. Khosla Ventures says Vinod led its $50 million investment in OpenAI in 2019.
His son, Neal Khosla, brings another connection that is particularly notable given Schneider’s reference to the medical field.
Neal is the co-founder and CEO of Curai Health, which describes its proprietary artificial intelligence and machine-learning platform as a central part of how it delivers primary care. TIME included Neal on its inaugural TIME100 AI list in 2023.
That doesn’t mean those technologies are coming directly to the Seahawks. Schneider did not say that.
It does explain why the GM sees the ownership transition as something more than a financial change.
Seahawks GM Is Already Talking With New Ownership
Schneider said the early communication has centered on learning what matters to the Khoslas and establishing how everyone will work together.
“They’re excited, they want to support, they want to learn,” Schneider said. “They just want to win, they want to dominate.”
For a Seahawks organization coming off a Super Bowl championship, the challenge isn’t rebuilding a broken football operation. Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald already have a successful one.
The more intriguing question is what a technology-heavy ownership group can add to it.
Based on Schneider’s first extended comments on the subject, Seattle intends to find out quickly.
Seahawks GM John Schneider: New Owners Can Take 3 Areas ‘to Another Level’