The Seattle Seahawks once owned one of the best home-field advantages in the league. Sadly, that's all but disappeared. The team isn't exactly the defensive juggernaut of the Legion of Boom days, but a little more fan support would help. And it looks like help is on the way.
Not long ago, a road trip to Lumen Field was the stuff of nightmares for visiting teams. From their first season under head coach Pete Carroll in 2010 through 2016, the Seahawks were a formidable 43-13. That's a winning percentage of 76.8 percent for the less mathy among you. Or an average 12-4 record for a 16-game season. Yeah, no one wants to face that.
It shouldn't surprise anyone, least of all the Seahawks organization, that as the team's performance declined, so did the loyalty of some fans. I won't say the loyalty of the 12s, as they always show up for their guys. But for the fans who bought season tickets when the team was on top.
Then, they lost interest, and selling their home team out became too common. It got to the point that opposing teams took over Lumen Field. The Seahawks are finally taking some steps to limit the problem.
Seahawks will monitor resales to quash opposition invasions
As reported by multiple outlets, the Seahawks have finally implemented new rules in an attempt to curtail the number of tickets sold to visiting fans. The statement is straightforward:
The Seahawks are cracking down on the bandwagons who are selling their tickets pic.twitter.com/iVl9RQgDng
— Shadow (@FeelLikeMafe) May 9, 2025
The key statement: "While occasional resale is permitted, renewal eligibility may be impacted if it is determined that your tickets were primarily used for resale purposes. At the conclusion of each season, accounts that resell a majority of their season tickets will be contacted and given an opportunity to respond before any renewal eligibility decisions are made..."
As you can see from the responses to the post, fans are divided on the new policy. Several 12s mention traveling to Seattle for select home games and selling the others to cover the costs. Others call out brokers who buy season tickets strictly for resale.
It appears those brokers will be out of business after this season. As for the legitimate fans, there's a review process. If your home address is Vancouver, the Seahawks will figure it out.
As for true fans who can only attend some games and sell others to recoup their costs, I feel for them. As I wrote last year, there are too many supposed fans literally selling out their team. Yes, it's true, their performance has fallen off in the past several years. To some extent, I get the disillusionment. To some extent.
As I wrote at the outset, Seattle wasn't a fun business trip for the opposition for several years. But as the defense started to fall off, so did the home record. From 2017 to 2023, Carroll's last season, the Seahawks were just 29-20. That's a far less intimidating 59 percent win rate, the equivalent of a 10-7 team.
Still not a walk in the park, but not that scary, either. Without the anomaly of a 7-1 home record in 2020, their record at home drops to just 53.6 percent, a 9-8 season. Which was exactly Seattle's record in Carroll's last two seasons.
The Seahawks were only 3-6 last year at home. Even worse, that was after starting the season with two home wins. After a 24-3 dismantling of Miami, Seattle only managed one more victory in front of the 12s. Even that was a lackluster 16-6 defeat of the Cardinals. A sparkling 7-1 road record saved Mike Macdonald's inaugural season.
So, in one sense, I get it. No one wants to see the home team lose, but true fans show up to support their team, period. If you're one of those Seahawks fans who sell game tickets because you expect a loss, do everyone a favor: don't renew your season package. Stay home and "take the L."