It’s a new era for the Seattle Seahawks as NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the sale of the franchise to the Khosla family, led by Vinod and Neeru Khosla. However, when he took the stage for his introductory speech, Seattle fans were in for an unsavory surprise.

“I also happened to come to this country in ’76 when the Steelers were winning the Super Bowl, so actually I was originally and still am a big Steelers fan,” Vinod Khosla said while addressing his newly acquired team, via CBS. “Also, little-known fact, but I still watch all the Steelers games too.”

On July 11, the Khosla family finalized a deal with the Paul G. Allen Estate to acquire the Seahawks for a record $9.612 billion, according to ESPN. While they now become Seattle’s owners, they are not new to owning stakes in the NFL. Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist, purchased a roughly 3% share of the San Francisco 49ers, which put the total value of the franchise at $8.5 billion. Per Forbes, he has a net worth of more than $13 billion.

The Seahawks got a new owner for the first time since Paul Allen purchased the team in 1997. After his death, it was managed by his sister, Jody Allen. Previously, a party involving steel industry giant Aditya Mittal was also involved in the bidding, but the Khoslas prevailed.

As part of the deal to purchase the Seahawks, Khosla will be required to give up his stake in the 49ers. The ownership change will become official once the transaction closes, potentially before Seattle’s Sept. 9 season opener against the New England Patriots, a rematch of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX win on Feb. 8.

However, mentally he has already become a Seahawk. 

“How often do you get to buy a franchise that just won the Super Bowl?” he said at the NFL owners’ meeting in Atlanta. “We are incredibly lucky and humbled by this gift, I would say, from the Allen trust.”

But his open admission about his preference for the Steelers did not sit well with Seattle fans. After all, Seattle and Pittsburgh have been at each other’s throats for years, tied at 11-11 (including playoffs). During their last outing, the Seahawks defeated Pittsburgh 31-17. 

“As a die hard Seahawks fan….no thx,” wrote a fan.

“Bring back Jody Allen 😭,” an upset fan wrote. 

“Should’ve bought the Steelers I can’t stand Rooney anymore 😭 but I get why Seahawks fans are mad at this lol,” another wrote. 

“Ye bru already hate him💀. You cant like steelers and seattle after that 2005 superbowl,” a fan did not said. 

“Not a great first impression… 🤨” a fan wrote. 

“And so WTF did you buy our team for then?” an angry fan questioned. 

“Yikes man,” wrote a fan. 

Here’s another bit of information Seattle won’t like: Vinod’s son, Neal, is a diehard 49ers fan and has grown up attending Niners games. In fact, he was the “driving force” behind the Khoslas buying the Seahawks, according to Neeru.

But Vinod’s love for the Steelers has a genuine reason to upset Seahawks fans. Seattle started strong vs Pittsburgh with a field goal, but there were some controversial calls made during the game. One of them includes a 40-yard rushing touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger, which was initially ruled a dead ball. However, bad time management further plagued Seattle into a 21-10 defeat.

The Seahawks could not make the Super Bowl game until last season, when they emerged champions.

Khosla is fortunate he will not have to feel the pressure of picking a team, as Pittsburgh and Seattle are not scheduled to face off this season.