The Seattle Seahawks aren't even a full week removed from winning the Super Bowl, and yet, their fans are already agitated with their 2026 schedule.
Although the NFL won't release its 2026 schedule until mid-May, John Ourand of Puck is reporting that Seattle might not kick off the season. There's a good chance the league starts Week 1 with the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.
Ourand previously said the 49ers-Rams game in Australia will be part of the NFL’s opening weekend schedule. What fans didn't expect was for it to potentially steal the Seahawks' thunder by taking place on a Wednesday.
While a final decision hasn't been announced yet, NFL fans are worried the Seahawks won't get the spotlight to themselves in Week 1.
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
"It would be the ultimate sign of disrespect if a game takes place before the Seahawks. The world champs earned the right to open the season with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with winning a Super Bowl," Mike Lefko said.
"Not a fan of having a potential high playoff seeding and division title taking place on a Wednesday in Australia," one person commented.
"NFL is gonna get away with this because the Seahawks will be up for sale and don’t have an owner," a Seahawks fan added. "Imagine trying to explain this to Jones, Kraft, or any other owner whose team just won the Super Bowl."
"An international game might really be being played before the reigning champions debut," a fan wrote in disgust.
"The NFL season starting on a Wednesday is nonsense," another fan declared.
Seahawks unfazed by the critics.
During the championship parade on Wednesday, Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones IV delivered a blunt message to anyone still doubting the champs.
"Not only do we have the best defense in the world, we got the best team in the world, and quite frankly, if you got anything to say for my quarterback, you got anything to say for my defense, you got anything to say for my O-line, and you got anything to say about the city of Seattle, I got two words for you: [Expletive] you," Jones said.
Despite winning the Super Bowl, it sounds like the Seahawks will enter the 2026 season with a chip on their shoulder.