Recent online rumors circulated regarding the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, alleging they had either turned down a White House invitation or were disinvited. However, a thorough examination of the facts reveals these claims to be unsubstantiated. As of February 18, 2026, there is no verifiable evidence that the team received an official invitation from the White House, nor that they subsequently rejected one. The White House has remained silent on the matter, and an NFL insider, who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that no such invitation had been extended.
The speculation originated from posts on social media platforms, including Facebook and X, which rapidly spread the unconfirmed narrative. One Facebook post, dated February 17, 2026, jubilantly declared, "Seattle Seahawks decline White House invitation!" accompanied by celebratory emojis. Similarly, an X post from February 18, 2026, dramatically stated, "The #Seahawks have been uninvited to the White House. WOW." These posts garnered significant attention, prompting inquiries into their veracity.
Lead Stories, a fact-checking organization, investigated these assertions and found them lacking factual basis. The Seattle Times corroborated these findings, reporting on February 18, 2026, that an NFL source confirmed the absence of any White House invitation for the Seahawks, despite the widespread online speculation. The White House itself did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Lead Stories, leaving the online claims unconfirmed by official sources.
It is customary for championship-winning sports teams to visit the White House several months after their victory, typically in the spring or summer. Given that the Seahawks secured their Super Bowl LX title on February 8, 2026, it is entirely normal for any potential White House visit to still be in its preliminary planning stages, or not yet initiated. The swift circulation of these rumors, without an official invitation or refusal, highlights the rapid spread of unverified information online.
Searches across major news indexes, including Google News, for mentions of the Seattle Seahawks, White House, and invitation, yielded no credible reports supporting the social media narratives. This absence of reliable news coverage further underscores the lack of truth in the online claims, reinforcing the conclusion that the rumors about the Seahawks declining or being disinvited from the White House are, in fact, false.