The Seattle Seahawks will be missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, but the team has had only one losing season since 2011. Poorly run organizations don't do such things. Should 12s wish things were even better? Of course. But things could be so much worse.
In a recent poll by The Athletic (subscription required) of 40 executives and coaches from each of the big four professional sports leagues in North America (Major League Baseball, the NFL, NHL, and NBA) asking which was the best-run franchise in their respective sport, the Seahawks came in at number 22. That is a pretty high mark when there are more than 120 teams in those leagues.
While there is no reason given specifically for Seattle's ranking, one can safely assume that Seattle is well-respected because general manager John Schneider has been in his role since 2010 and the ownership group is well-funded and lets the football people handle the football business. This contrasts with the Dallas Cowboys whose owner, Jerry Jones, also pays himself to be the GM. Dallas was 48.
The Seahawks get a great ranking in recent poll but the top team might make Seattle fans sick
Seattle also comes in second among NFC West teams. The San Francisco 49ers are 10 and the Los Angeles Rams are 25. The Arizona Cardinals do not show up until number 70. It is difficult to argue with any of those rankings.
The most hurtful part for Seattle sports fans is who was the overall top team. That went to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder have not won a championship, but they have a good team in 2024 and have set themselves up for high-end future success by stock-piling draft picks. But we do not care so much about that last bit.
The issue is that the Seattle SuperSonics were stolen from the Emerald City in 2008 after being sold to Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, who was supposed to put forth a good-faith effort for the team to stay in Seattle. This was after the Washington state government refused to allocate funds for a new arena and after former owner, Starbucks head Howard Schultz, sold the team without bothering much to look for a local buyer.
The players are not to blame for the move to OK City; it was all about money. The NBA also has not made the situation right (yet) as an expansion team has not been awarded to Seattle. Hopefully, that will change in the next year.
