In early June, while negotiating to purchase the Seattle Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion, Vinod Khosla did something he rarely does: He donated to a Republican politician.
The $5,000 the billionaire gave to Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) over two checks on June 4 were his first donations this cycle to a Republican candidate or conservative-aimed action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records. Prior to that point, he had given about $2.1 million to Democrats or explicitly liberal PACs.
A donation that size from an NFL owner might not typically be notable—rich Americans often donate across parties, frequently with specific policy aims in mind. But as Sportico detailed earlier this year, Khosla is an outlier among his new NFL peers. Data available in July revealed he’d given four times more money to Democratic political organizations than all 31 NFL control owners combined during this cycle, and not a single donation to Republicans.
Khosla’s outlier conservative donation to Fleischmann, a more recent addition to the FEC’s database, came as he was in talks to join an exclusive group made up almost entirely of conservative donors. A rep for Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla’s VC firm, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the donation.
Khosla Ventures’ portfolio includes numerous positions in climate tech, AI and energy, which dovetail with Fleischmann’s committee roles. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee, where he chairs the Energy, Water Development and Related Agencies subcommittee. He also serves on the Energy Subcommittee within the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Khosla and his wife Neeru, who will serve as the Seahawks’ main governor, closed on their deal to buy the team in August. (Neeru Khosla has made just one donation since the start of 2025, per FEC filings, a $50,000 donation to a Democrat-focused action committee.) Their minority partners include former U.S. commerce secretary Penny Pritzker; the Mexican billionaire Aramburuzabala family; Val Blavatnik, son of billionaire Len Blavatnik; Khosla Ventures founding partner Samir Kaul; and Golden State Warriors investor Mark Stevens, who in 2019 caused an NBA firestorm when he shoved a player during a Finals game.
Fleischmann has served in Congress since 2011 as the representative from Tennessee’s 3rd District, which includes Chattanooga and some Knoxville suburbs.