Super Bowl 2026: 10 things to know about the Seattle Seahawks

1. The Seahawks were named in 1975 after an osprey, also known as a sea hawk. The name was chosen after the team held a public contest with 20,000 entries and 1,700 names. Seahawks was one of five finalists offered with Sockeyes, Mariners, Olympics and Evergreens. They began play during the 1976 season, when they finished 2-12.

2. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen purchased the Seahawks in 1997. The purchase not only kept the Seahawks from relocating to Anaheim, California, it came with the promise of public funding to assist with Allen’s funding for a new stadium. That stadium is now Lumen Field, one of the NFL’s loudest stadium environments. Allen died in 2018 but his estate maintains ownership of the team and is chaired by his sister Jody.

3. The Seahawks’ four Super Bowl appearances are tied for the third most since 2000 with the Eagles. This season marks 20 years since the Seahawks’ first Super Bowl appearance, a 21-10 loss in Super Bowl XL to the Steelers. The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in February 2014 — the last postseason game hosted at MetLife Stadium — and lost the next season to the Patriots.

4. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, 38, is the third-youngest head coach to make his Super Bowl debut. Only Sean McVay (33) and Mike Tomlin (36) were younger reaching the game for the first time. McVay lost his debut with the Rams — against the Patriots — but Tomlin won his.

5. Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde is the first British-born coordinator to reach the Super Bowl. The Middlesex, England, native was also the NFL’s first British full-time coach when he was hired by the Falcons in 2018 as a defensive quality control coach.

6. Seattle general manager John Schneider, who has been at the helm since 2010, is the first GM to reach multiple Super Bowls with the same team but with two different rosters and head coaches. No active Seahawks player was on the Super Bowl teams from the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

7. Sam Darnold is the first NFL quarterback to win at least 14 regular-season games in consecutive seasons with two different teams. He is also the second quarterback to win 14 games in consecutive seasons since Tom Brady, who did it in 2003-04.

8. This isn’t the "Legion of Boom" Seahawks defense from the 2010s, but this year's group has a nickname, too. They call themselves the “Dark Side.” The nickname is from a combo of Seattle’s gloomy weather and how this physical defense likes to swarm and attack its opponents. It’s been effective — the Seahawks allowed the fewest points per game in the NFL this season at 17.2.

9. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the NFL in receiving in his third NFL season with 1,793 yards. But the All-Pro first-team selection isn’t the only pro athlete in his family. His older brother, Canaan, played two seasons with the Pirates and played part of the 2024 season in the White Sox organization.

10. Safety Coby Bryant is named after Lakers Hall of Fame guard Kobe Bryant. His parents changed the spelling of the first name to make it unique. To make the connection even clearer, Bryant also wears No. 8, the first number the NBA’s Bryant wore during his 20-year career.