Seattle Seahawks fans learned this week that the team will be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks for the first time. The team will be part of the 2026 training camp edition, so this summer, 12s and fans of other teams will get an up-close look at Seattle's facilities and the players.
The move makes sense, of course. The Seahawks will be the reigning Super Bowl champions heading into next season. How Seattle does business should be an interesting watch. But to be sure, general manager John Schneider is excited to show off his team while also not disclosing too much about the culture.
"We're going to work with the National Football League," Schneider said on his show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, "and the teams that have been through (Hard Knocks) before, and just help us make it a positive for the organization. and have it not be as much of a distraction...When the commissioner called me about it, it made sense. You know, Sam (Darnold), Spoon (Devon Witherspoon), Jax (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), Leo (Leonard Williams), we've got some cool characters on this team that are great stories."
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider delivers his truth about the team being on HBO's Hard Knocks
Schneider also added, "We're going to make it as positive as we possibly can without sharing as much information as we possibly can."
The last part is classic Schneider, of course. The Seahawks have been mostly successful since the GM came to the team in 2010 because the organization does business a bit differently. The franchise has a glowing reputation for how all the employees are treated, from players to the janitorial staff.
Other teams will try to copy what Seattle does, obviously, as the NFL is a copycat league where success tends to try to be replicated. An organization doesn't want to give away all its secrets for what makes it special, and the Seahawks are very special.
The positive about Hard Knocks is that while the series is well done, the point isn't to drum up as much controversy for the team as possible. Instead, the show tries to illuminate how a team works and allows players to show football fans everywhere who they really are. Will the series affect how much the Seattle Seahawks win or lose in 2026? No.
The series this summer will obviously be a must-watch for 12s, though. Fans already know the team well, of course, and what will be seen in Hard Knocks will likely only reemphasize what fans know about JSN, Witherspoon, and others. That will almost certainly be a positive.