The Seattle Seahawks have not received a White House invitation yet following their Super Bowl win, head coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday, February 25, 2026, from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The Athletic reported on the status of the invite.
That matters for one simple reason: until there’s an official invite, there’s nothing for Seattle to accept or decline, a point that’s been easy to lose amid the swirl of social-media rumor.
Seahawks News: Mike Macdonald and Seahawks will “address it” if an invite arrives
Macdonald told reporters the Seahawks haven’t made any decision on a White House visit because, in his words, the team still hasn’t gotten an invitation.
“We haven’t gotten an invite yet,” Macdonald said, adding that the team would handle the situation after that point.
Macdonald also indicated it would be a group decision, rather than one person speaking for the entire organization.
In other words: no invitation means no final answer, not from Macdonald, not from the front office, not from players.
Seahawks Rumors: This follows the viral rumor Seattle had “already declined”
The timing of Macdonald’s comments is significant because it arrives after a rumor circulated online claiming the Seahawks had already turned down a White House visit.
In Heavy’s earlier reporting, we noted there was no public documentation of an invite being sent, and no confirmation from either the White House or the Seahawks that anything had been declined. You can read that full breakdown here.
Fact-checkers and major outlets have also landed in the same place: the claim that Seattle “declined” didn’t come with evidence of an invitation in the first place.
Macdonald’s quote now gives the cleanest, most direct update possible: Seattle hasn’t received an invite yet.
How these White House trips typically work and what happens next
Championship-team White House visits have become more complicated (and more scrutinized) in recent years, with teams sometimes going with partial attendance, or individual players opting out.
A recent NFL example: the Philadelphia Eagles visited the White House on April 28, 2025, and multiple players — including Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith — did not attend.
That timeline is worth noting because it shows these events are often scheduled weeks after the season ends — not immediately after the Super Bowl — and they depend on coordination between the White House, the league/team, and travel logistics.
So what’s next for Seattle?
- Step 1: An invitation has to be extended.
- Step 2: The Seahawks decide — as Macdonald said — once there’s something official to respond to.
Seahawks did visit in 2014 with one notable absence
The Seahawks’ first Super Bowl championship team did visit the White House in 2014 (during President Barack Obama’s administration). One notable story from that trip: Marshawn Lynch didn’t attend, and his mother told The Seattle Times that he “just didn’t want to go.”
That history is relevant now because it underscores a reality that often gets overlooked in this discourse: even when a team goes, attendance can be individual and optional.
Bottom line
Right now, the Seahawks’ White House situation is straightforward: no invite has arrived yet, and Macdonald says the team will deal with the decision if and when that happens.
And until that invitation is real — not rumored — any definitive claims about Seattle “declining” are still jumping ahead of the only step that matters.
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