The Seattle Seahawks weren't much of an NFL powerhouse in the 20th century, but in the last 26 years, they've emerged as one of the NFC's most consistent winners.
With one Super Bowl title and three appearances in the game, plus a total of 16 playoff appearances since 2000, more often than not, Seattle has been a significant part of the NFL's national landscape. And with the Seahawks claiming the NFC West and their conference's top seed in the 2025 regular season, they have a strong chance to make another deep run.
Based on one unique trend noticed by fans, however, there's a theme that could be following the Seahawks in this century: their success when a new pope is elected. Considering Pope Leo XIV was elected in 2025, it could even be a sign of Seattle's strong chances of making a Super Bowl appearance.
Here's what to know about the potential correlation between a new pope and the Seahawks' playoff success.
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Seahawks pope election trend, explained
Around the 2025 season, some NFL fans took notice to a far-reaching, but perhaps interesting trend surrounding the Seahawks: since 2000, every time a new pope was elected, Seattle has made it to the Super Bowl.
That isn't the entirety of the correlation, either. Not only have the Seahawks reached the Super Bowl in both following seasons after a new pope was elected, but they were also the NFC's No. 1 seed in both of those years.
There's one more aspect: in all three regular seasons after a new pope was elected, the Seahawks won 13 games.
| Year | Pope Elected | Seahawks' NFC Playoff Seed | Playoff Result |
| 2005 | Pope Benedict XVI | No. 1 (13 wins) | Lost to Steelers in Super Bowl XL |
| 2013 | Pope Francis | No. 1 (13 wins) | Beat Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII |
| 2025 | Pope Leo XIV | No. 1 (13 wins) | TBD |
In 2005, following the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the Seahawks made a run to Super Bowl XL as the NFC's No. 1 seed. However, Seattle lost to the Steelers.
In 2013, following the election of Pope Francis, the Seahawks were again the NFC's top seed, then beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII for their first championship in franchise history.
Based on those two results, it's got fans thinking the Seahawks are Super Bowl-bound in February 2026. Pope Leo XIV was elected in early 2025, then Seattle proceeded to lock in the No. 1 seed in the NFC once again.
Time will tell if the Seahawks' "Pope Theory" stands true once again in 2026. But if it does, there will certainly be reasons to expect a parade in Seattle years from now, when another new pope is elected in Vatican City.
The last 2 times a new Pope has been elected, the Seahawks have clinched the 1 seed and made it to the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/fdA0WNQIc5
— NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) January 4, 2026
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