Could Seattle Seahawks Get Company In Pacific Northwest?

The Seattle Seahawks have owned the Pacific Northwest for nearly 50 years, but what if there was some added competition?

Jul 30, 2023; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) takes a selfie with fans after practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Since they began play in 1976, the Seattle Seahawks have held the title of the Pacific Northwest's one and only NFL team. But what if that were to change?

While the real NFL is highly unlikely to expand any time soon, ESPN's Bill Barnwell explored a hypothetical world with a whopping 100 professional football teams across the country. In this thought experiment, Barnwell identified two cities in the Pacific Northwest that an NFL team could call home.

The first of those two cities shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone: Portland, Oregon. Other leagues have shown that the two cities can coexist, such as the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers (until the former was ripped away from their home under questionable circumstances) and MLS' Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers. In fact, Seattle and Portland could be an instant rivalry in this hypothetical NFL.

"While there are certainly people in Portland who root for the Seahawks by default, that would change quickly if Oregon's largest city landed a football team," Barnwell writes. "Think about the rivalry between the Trail Blazers and Sonics in the NBA or, in more recent years, between the Sounders and Timbers in MLS. This would instantly become one of the most entertaining local fistfights in the league."

The second pick in the region may be a bit more of a surprise: Spokane, Washington. Spokane is far enough from Seattle to avoid too much overlap, but the city has a relatively small population of around 230,000 and has no history of professional sports. Then again, you have to get creative to make a 100-team league work.

"Again, by default, the people of Spokane have little choice but to be Seahawks fans if they want to support a 'local' NFL team. With the city nearly 300 miles east of Seattle, they could just as easily have their own team and draw fans from the nearby area," Barnwell writes. "This team could also be in Pullman, where Washington State has a huge stadium, about 75 miles south of Spokane. If the state can support a legendary rivalry between two college football teams, why not a pro rivalry, too?"

The NFL hasn't expanded since 2002 when the Houston Texans brought professional football back to H-Town, and with all 32 teams being on stable ground, expansion doesn't seem likely in the near future. Still, it's fun to imagine an even bigger NFL, especially with the Seahawks gaining some new local rivals.