The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team organized in 1976 and based in Seattle, Washington, US, that plays in the National Football League. This article details the history of the Seattle Seahawks American football club.

Overview As one of the agreed parts of the 1970 AFL–NFL Merger, the NFL began planning to expand from 26 to 28 teams. Ralph Wilson was the first to propose a team for Seattle; due to the decrepit stadium situation at War Memorial Stadium and the reluctance of Buffalo, New York officials to replace it. In early 1971, he openly threatened to move his Buffalo Bills to Seattle. Buffalo officials acquiesced and built what is now Rich Stadium in 1973, keeping the Bills in Buffalo, where they remain. Hall of fame running back Hugh McElhenny, a Seattle resident and University of Washington alumnus, signed a contract with a group called the Seattle Sea Lions in hopes of bringing an NFL franchise to the city. In anticipation, he named himself general manager of the non-existent "Seattle Kings" in May 1972, and the next year the franchise gained the backing of Edward Nixon, brother of president Richard Nixon. However, McElhenny's plan ultimately fell through.

On June 15, 1972, Seattle Professional Football Inc., a group of Seattle business and community leaders started by Herman Sarkowsky and Ned Skinner, announced its intention to acquire an NFL franchise for Seattle. Almost two years later on June 4, 1974, the NFL awarded the group an expansion franchise. On December 5, 1974, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the official signing of the franchise agreement by Lloyd W. Nordstrom, representing the Nordstrom family as majority partners for the consortium, the cost of the franchise was $16 million. Nordstrom died of a heart attack on January 20, 1976, just months before the Seahawks played their first game; son Elmer then oversaw the team on behalf of the Nordstroms.

On March 5, 1975, John Thompson, a former University of Washington executive, was hired as the general manager of the yet-unnamed team. The nickname Seahawks was selected on June 17, 1975, after a public naming contest which drew more than 20,000 entries and over 1,700 different names. 151 people had submitted the name in the list, such as Clark McMillan and Hazel Cooke (who each received a framed piece of literature for their efforts). Five names were selected as finalists: Sockeyes, Mariners, Olympics, Evergreens, and Seahawks. Nordstrom and his group telephoned Rozelle and Jim Kensil (league executive director) for a response on the names, and their favorable reaction to Seahawks led to the use of the name for the team. The nickname was previously used by the Miami Seahawks of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946.

Thompson recruited and hired Jack Patera, the Minnesota Vikings' defensive line coach, to be the Seahawks' first head coach. Patera, age 42, was introduced at a press conference on January 3, 1976. Thompson served as general manager for the first seven seasons, which resulted in a record with no playoff appearances and only two non-losing seasons: 9–7 in 1978 and 1979. The expansion draft was held in late March with Seattle and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers alternating picks for 39 rounds, selecting unprotected players from the other 26 teams in the league. With the second overall pick of the 1976 NFL draft in early April, the Seahawks selected defensive tackle Steve Niehaus of Notre Dame. The team took the field for the first time on August 1 in a pre-season game against the San Francisco 49ers in the brand new Kingdome.

The Seahawks are the only NFL team to switch conferences twice. The franchise began play in 1976 in the NFC West division, but switched conferences with the Buccaneers after one season and joined the AFC West. This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both expansion teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise. Between 1977 and 2002, their division rivals were Denver, San Diego, Kansas City, and Oakland/Los Angeles.

Seattle has won eleven division titles in their franchise history: two AFC West titles (1988 and 1999) and ten NFC West titles (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2025). They have won the NFC Championship Game four times in 2005, 2013, 2014, and 2025 and lost the AFC Championship Game once in 1983; as a result, they are the only team to have appeared in both the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games. The Seahawks have two Super Bowl victories in 2013 and 2025 and two losses (2005 and 2014). Prior to 2005, Seattle had the longest drought of playoff victories of any NFL team, dating back to the 1984 season. That drought was ended with a 20–10 win over the Washington Redskins in the 2005 playoffs. In 2010, the Seahawks became the first team in NFL history to win their division with a losing record (7-9) in a full season. They'd participate in the 2010 playoffs, beating the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round—a game that featured the infamous "Beast Quake" run by running back Marshawn Lynch—before losing to the Chicago Bears in the Divisional round. As of January 2025, the all-time Seahawks playoff record is 20–19.NFC West

Beginnings: 1976–1978 The Seahawks had their biggest "win" before ever taking the field for a regular season game. On August 26, 1976, the Seahawks traded an eighth round pick in 1977 to the Houston Oilers for Steve Largent. The franchise's first win came on October 17 when they beat their expansion brethren Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13–10 at Tampa Bay. On November 7 they won their first game at home, 30–13 over the Atlanta Falcons. Those were the lone victories in an inaugural 2–12 season. However, the exciting play of Jim Zorn and Largent served notice of the entertainment to come.

The Seahawks hosted the 1977 Pro Bowl in the Kingdome on January 17, 1977, and a sellout crowd of 63,214 saw the AFC beat the NFC 24–14. It was the first sellout in Pro Bowl history.

In a reversal of the cunning that brought them Largent, the Seahawks traded their first round pick in 1977 to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a first and 3 second round draft picks. Dallas selected Tony Dorsett, who threatened to play in the Canadian Football League if he was drafted by the Seahawks, with the pick obtained from Seattle.

The 1977 season began with four straight losses before Tampa Bay came to town. The Seahawks won "Expansion Bowl II" by a score of 30–23. Two weeks later the season highlight happened on October 30 when quarterback Jim Zorn came back from missing four games with an injury to throw four touchdown passes in a 56–17 win over the Buffalo Bills at the Kingdome. The 1977 Seahawks finished with a record of 5–9, to establish a then record for wins by a second year franchise.

In 1978, the Seahawks achieved their first winning season with a 9–7 record as WR Steve Largent finished second in the NFL with 1,168 receiving yards, Jack Patera was named NFL Coach of the Year and Jim Zorn was named AFC Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C. Season highlights included becoming the first team since 1965 to sweep the Raiders (27–7 win at home and a 17–16 win in Oakland).

1979 saw the Seahawks attract a national following after their first Monday Night Football appearance on October 29, 1979. After trailing 14–0 against the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle battled back to win 31–28. A fake field goal pass from Zorn to kicker Efren Herrera led Howard Cosell to exclaim "the Seahawks are giving the nation a lesson in entertaining football!" The good vibe was short-lived, as the next week the Seahawks set an NFL record for the lowest total offense in one game (minus 7 yards) in a 24–0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at the Kingdome. The team rebounded from that embarrassment to win 5 of their last 6 games, including a 30–7 victory over the New York Jets on MNF, to finish with a 9–7 record.

1979–1982: Final Patera years Great hopes after consecutive wins were crushed in 1980. The Seahawks lost their last 9 games to turn a 4–3 record into a 4–12 season, losing all eight home games. The collapse did enable the Seahawks to select safety Kenny Easley out of UCLA in the first round of the 1981 draft.

In 1981, the Seahawks lost five of their first six games on their way to a 6–10 record. Steve Largent had another stellar season with 1,224 receiving yards. Dave Krieg made his first career start in place of an injured Zorn on December 6, 1981, completing 20 of 26 passes in a 27–23 win over the Jets.

In the strike-shortened season of 1982, the Seahawks fired Patera during the strike after losing their first two games. Interim coach Mike McCormack finished the rest of the season and the Seahawks compiled a 4–5 record.

1983–1991: The Chuck Knox era

1983

After a disappointing 1982 season (shortened due to a players' strike), the Seahawks moved interim coach Mike McCormack back into the front office and hired Chuck Knox as head coach. In 1983, the Seahawks were battling for a playoff berth with a 6–6 record when they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 51–48 at the Kingdome in week thirteen. They won two of the next three games to finish at 9–7 and earn their first playoff berth. In the wild-card playoffs, the Seahawks shut down division rival Denver and rookie quarterback John Elway 31–7.

The next week at the Orange Bowl, Seattle beat the Miami Dolphins in a dramatic fashion, coming from behind, driving 66 yards in 5 plays, ending with a dramatic Curt Warner TD run. Reserve linebacker Sam Merriman recovered a fumble on Miami's kick return to seal the 27–20 victory, defeating up-and-coming rookie quarterback Dan Marino. The Seahawks' miracle season ended in the AFC Championship Game as they lost to the eventual Super Bowl XVIII champion Los Angeles Raiders 30–14. Despite the 1983 season ending on a sour note, it was the first breakthrough season for the Seahawks. Running back Curt Warner rushed for 1449 yards, scored 14 touchdowns, and was named AFC Rookie of the Year; head coach Knox was named AFC Coach of the Year.

1984

The first game of 1984 was costly, as Curt Warner suffered a season ending knee injury in the 33–0 win over the Cleveland Browns, the first Opening Day win in team history. Without Warner, the "Ground Chuck" offense became "Air Knox". Led by QB Dave Krieg, the Seahawks enjoyed a then franchise record 8-game winning streak and a 12–4 record. The Seahawk defense posted 3 shutouts. One of the shutouts occurred on November 4 where they beat the Chiefs 45–0 in a game highlighted by 4 touchdowns off interception returns (still an NFL record). A season ending 2-game losing streak cost them the division title and forced a wild card game against the Raiders. The Seahawks rode running back Dan Doornink and prevailed 13–7 in the team's last playoff victory for 21 years, avenging last year's AFC Championship Game loss. The Seahawks, in turn, fell to the Super Bowl bound Miami Dolphins 31–10 in the divisional playoffs, with the Dolphins exacting revenge for their loss in the divisional playoffs at the hands of the Seahawks the previous year. Chuck Knox was named AFC Coach of the Year for a consecutive season.

1985–1990

The 1985 campaign was one of the most frustrating in the team's history. Seattle went through an alternating pattern of winning two consecutive games and losing two consecutively, to end at 8–8. Quarterback Dave Krieg passed for 3,602 yards on the season. A final game loss at home to Denver was a microcosm of the season, as the Seahawks squandered an early lead and an attempt at a game-tying field goal hit the upright as time expired.