Alberta businessman joins NFL ownership group
A Canadian businessman is officially part of the ownership group of one of the NFL’s most popular teams.
Jesse van der Werf, who is from Sherwood Park, has become a minority owner of the Seattle Seahawks after the Khosla family officially completed its purchase of the franchise.
Van der Werf is one of 12 co-owners joining the Khosla family, which purchased the Seahawks for a record $9.612 billion.
The Khosla family officially took control of the team on Thursday, bringing an end to the ownership estate of longtime Seahawks owner Paul Allen. For van der Werf, the move adds NFL ownership to what was already a very impressive business resume.
Van der Werf is the president and CEO of Alberta-based Heavy Metal Equipment & Rentals, which is headquartered in Spruce Grove. The company also purchased the naming rights to the new Civic Centre in Spruce Grove back in 2024.
He isn’t the only notable name joining the Seattle Seahawks’ ownership group, either.
The 12 minority owners are made up of Mark Stevens, the Aramburuzabala family, Val Blavatnik, Sheryl Sokoloff, Gonzalo Hevia Bailleres, Samir Kaul, Sunny Gupta, Nader Naini, Penny Pritzker, Carlyle and Dynasty Equity, Sixth Street, and van der Werf.
The Seahawks are one of seven NFL teams that currently list Canada as one of their countries in the league’s Global Markets Program. The team has developed a strong following north of the border, including a Canadian fan group known as 12 North. Now, that Canadian connection extends all the way into the Seahawks’ ownership group.
The timing certainly isn’t bad for van der Werf and the rest of the Seahawks’ new ownership group, as the team is coming off its second Super Bowl championship in franchise history.
Seattle will begin its title defence next week when they host the New England Patriots, the team they defeated in last year’s Super Bowl.
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