Seahawks Allowing Season Ticket Holders to Opt Out of 2020 Season

With the chance of fans being allowed to attend games this season slim to none due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle became the latest team to provide season ticket holders with the option for a refund or keeping credit for 2021.

Corbin K. Smith | Jul 9, 2020

As COVID-19 cases continue to spike around the country, the chances of fans being able to attend any NFL games this year continue to dwindle.

Becoming the 14th known team to reach out to season ticket holders, the Seahawks became the latest organization to give season ticket holders the option to skip the 2020 season without being penalized. Per an email sent on Thursday morning, fans will have the option to request a refund and pause their membership for the 2020 season or defer credit towards the 2021 season.

For those who opt out and apply for a refund, their seats will be released for the 2020 season only and they will retain the ability to purchase same seating location in 2021. Refunds are expected to be processed to most recently used cards in four-to-six weeks.

The Seahawks also provided a "wait and see" option for ticket holders holding out hope of being able to attend games this year, keeping their credit on account as the team awaits further details on government mandates for the upcoming season. Those fans will maintain priority ticket options as stadium capacity or game schedules occur and any unused credits will roll over to renewal for the 2021 season or be refunded by request.

While the NFL still remains optimistic a season will happen, if fans are ever allowed into stadiums, it will certainly be limited capacity with social distancing guidelines applied and face masks required. Those details continue to be discussed by league officials with training camps slated to start later this month.

If at some point local and state mandates allow the Seahawks to have 12,000 fans attend a game, the organization will have to figure out how to allocate tickets based on the number of season ticket holders who opt out. But that is an issue the team will happily tackle in the increasingly unlikely event it happens.

Published Jul 9, 2020

CORBIN K. SMITH

Graduating from Manchester College in 2012, Smith began his professional career as a high school Economics teacher in Indianapolis and launched his own NFL website covering the Seahawks as a hobby. After teaching and coaching high school football for five years, he transitioned to a full-time sports reporter in 2017, writing for USA Today's Seahawks Wire while continuing to produce the Legion of 12 podcast. He joined the Arena Group in August 2018 and also currently hosts the daily Locked On Seahawks podcast with Rob Rang and Nick Lee. Away from his coverage of the Seahawks and the NFL, Smith dabbles in standup comedy, is a heavy metal enthusiast and previously performed as lead vocalist for a metal band, and enjoys distance running and weight lifting. A habitual commuter, he resides with his wife Natalia in Colorado and spends extensive time reporting from his second residence in the Pacific Northwest.