Seahawks Crack Down On Season Ticket Resale Ahead Of Playoffs — Fair Or Foul?

The Seattle Seahawks will host a divisional round playoff game next weekend. And they certainly earned it.

At 14-3, Seattle locked up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. That means at least one postseason game at Lumen Field (and possibly two) with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Now, the team wants to make sure their home field is actually an advantage.

The team sent notices this week to a limited number of season-ticket holders warning that their renewal eligibility could be in jeopardy if their tickets are "used primarily for resale purposes." The idea, of course, is that the Seahawks don't want their own fans surrendering their seats to the opposing team.

The email read: 

Our records indicate that your seats for the upcoming Divisional Round Playoff game are currently posted for resale. As communicated before the 2025 season, 2026 renewal eligibility may be impacted if it is determined that your season tickets, including any playoff games, were used primarily for resale purposes.

To avoid any impact to your renewal eligibility, we ask that you remove your resale listing and ensure your tickets are used by another 12. We encourage you to distribute your tickets directly to friends, family members, neighbors, or community groups that will help us pack Lumen Field with blue and green.

So is this a reasonable effort to protect home-field advantage? Or is it a massive overreach?

The Seahawks Are Trying To Protect Their House

From the team's perspective, the argument is pretty straightforward.

Home-field advantage only matters if it actually exists. After a 2024 season in which Seattle went just 3-6 at home and saw "especially large presences" from opposing fan bases at Lumen Field, according to the Seattle Times, the organization decided to re-emphasize a policy that has technically been on the books for years.

"While occasional resale is permitted, renewal eligibility may be impacted if it is determined that your tickets were primarily used for resale purposes," the team said in an email to season ticket holders last spring. "At the conclusion of each season, accounts that resell a majority of their season tickets will be contacted and given an opportunity to respond before any renewal eligibility decisions are made."

In other words, this isn't about a fan who can't make one game. It's about accounts that appear to exist mainly to flip tickets.

(Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)

The team can argue that season tickets are not sold as investment vehicles, and, ultimately, renewal eligibility is a privilege, not a right. The Seahawks are a private organization, and they get to decide who they want to fill their stadium for the most important games of the year.

Given that Seattle earned the No. 1 seed, there's also a competitive argument. Selling those tickets to the highest bidder — namely, fans of the opposing team — effectively sells off the very home-field advantage the players fought all season to secure.

But Fans Are Pushing Back

Reaction to the notice on social media has been mixed, with some fans applauding the move and others expressing frustration.

For starters, many season-ticket holders see their tickets as theirs. They paid for them. Often thousands of dollars up front. And once you buy something, the assumption is that you can use it, gift it or sell it as you see fit. Especially given those playoff ticket prices.

As of Sunday afternoon, StubHub listed hundreds of resale tickets for Seattle's divisional playoff game, with the cheapest seats going for $496 apiece. Those prices go as high as $3,200 for premium seats. Resale tickets for a potential NFC Championship Game start at $850. 

In that context, it's not hard to understand why some fans would want to recoup part of their investment. 

Fans making their way to Lumen Field for a Seattle Seahawks game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

There's also the issue of enforcement. While the Seahawks say the emails were sent to accounts that "appear to primarily have them for resale purposes," some fans on social media claim they received warnings after listing tickets for the first time. If true, that undermines the promise that this policy targets repeat offenders rather than occasional sellers.

And then there's the irony that resale is built into the modern NFL experience. Teams promote official resale platforms. Tickets are fully digital. Usage is tracked. The infrastructure to sell tickets is not only allowed, but encouraged. Punishing fans for using it, even selectively, feels a little contradictory.

I guess it all comes down to this: are season tickets purchased property? Or are they conditional memberships tied to behavior? I don't know the answer to that.

Whose side are you on? Email me at Amber.Harding@outkick.com and let me know.