A decades-long custom of championship-winning sports teams making a celebratory trip to the White House has become a political lightning rod throughout U.S. President Donald Trump's time in office, leaving fans uncertain as to whether the Seattle Seahawks will make the trip to D.C. following their Super Bowl win on Feb. 8, 2026.
On Feb. 17, rumors began spreading online that the Seahawks had explicitly declined a White House invitation. The claim spread on multiple platforms (archived, archived, archived), including an X post (archived) that received more than 3.8 million views, as of this writing. The X user didn't appear to have any related, official role that would lend credibility to his claim:
(X user @ronsterd89)
Other posts, including one from a sports parody X account (archived), continued to gain momentum, with many users in the comments apparently believing the claim that the Seahawks either declined an invitation from the White House or the White House rescinded an invitation to the Seattle team.
Either way, the claim lacks evidence. Neither the Seahawks nor the White House has made any official announcement, as of this writing, regarding whether the team will make an appearance at the White House. We reached out to Seahawks spokespeople and the White House, as well as top players' representatives, and did not immediately receive responses. We will update this story if we do.
Several news media outlets, including NBC Sports, reported on the rumor, similarly noting the claim lacked supporting evidence.
The Seahawks' official site (archived) and X account didn't feature any news release corroborating the claim, as of this writing.
Following the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl win in 2025, several players — including quarterback Jalen Hurts — chose to skip the scheduled appearance with Trump. An NBC White House correspondent reported their expected absence just hours before the team's visit took place in April 2025.
It's possible, judging by precedent, that a Seahawks visit will take place that hasn't, as of this writing, been scheduled. In 2021, for example, the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers didn't make the trip until July.
If Trump's White House did decline to invite the Seahawks, it wouldn't be the first time a Super Bowl champion's audience with the president intentionally did not take place. In 2018, during Trump's first term, his office released a statement (archived) after several Philadelphia Eagle players publicly indicated they would decline. Trump's statement claimed the players disagreed with Trump because "he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country."
Because neither the White House nor an official representative for the Seahawks confirmed whether the team will appear at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we leave this claim unrated.
Sources
Caplan, Anna Lazarus.A Dozen Philadelphia Eagles Players Skip White House Visit with Donald Trump. 29 Apr. 2025, https://people.com/dozen-philadelphia-eagles-players-skip-white-house-visit-11723633.
Corner, Ben Rohrbach |. Shutdown. 'List of Super Bowl Champions Refusing White House Visit Grows'.Yahoo Sports, 5 Feb. 2018, https://au.sports.yahoo.com/nfl-list-of-super-bowl-champions-refusing-white-house-visit-grow-38843157.html.
'Eagles Celebrate Super Bowl LIX Victory with White House Visit'.NFL.Com, https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-celebrate-super-bowl-lix-victory-with-white-house-visit. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
Seattle Seahawks. https://www.seahawks.com/news/press-releases/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
Shear, Michael D. .Trump Abruptly Calls Off Philadelphia Eagles' Visit to White House. The New York Times, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/sports/philadelphia-eagles-white-house.html.
Statement by the President – The White House. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-by-the-president-2/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
'Super Bowl LV Champion Buccaneers Visit White House'.NFL.Com, https://www.nfl.com/photos/super-bowl-lv-champion-buccaneers-visit-white-house. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
'Will Seahawks Make White House Visit?'NBC Sports, 18 Feb. 2026, https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/will-seahawks-make-white-house-visit.