Will Seahawks fans really be outnumbered by 49ers fans in opener?

The start of a new season brings a new opportunity for the Seattle Seahawks: to re-establish home-field advantage.

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OK yes, they also want to win as many games as possible and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. But this game is just as much about setting a tone for the season, and it’s one that needs to include a home-field advantage.

This message feels especially true after a third-party reseller forecast that more than half of the crowd this Sunday at Seattle’s Lumen Field will be San Francisco 49ers fans.

Wait, what? But this is the home of the 12th man. One of the loudest venues in the NFL. They’ve caused an actual earthquake and numerous false starts.

But both ESPN’s Nick Wagoner and David Lombardi are reporting that Seahawks fans will be in the minority on Sunday.

According to @VividSeats' Fan Forecast tool, #49ers fans are expected to make up 53% of the crowd on Sunday in Seattle.

Vivid Seats says the average ticket price for the matchup is $393, with a get-in price of $241.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 2, 2025

For the first time ever, 49ers fans are expected to be the majority in…. Seattle.

Vivid Seats projects 53% of the crowd on Sunday will be 49ers fans

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) September 2, 2025

My co-host on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, football analyst and former Seahawks wide receiver Michael Bumpus, explained Thursday that he’s been doing a bit of digging, talking to a few sources, and doesn’t think the math is mathing here.

“The reality is (the Vivid Seats) numbers are skewed a little bit,” Bumpus said. “They only have access to a few thousand seats. So, let’s say 3% or 4% of the 68,000 that’s in there.”

Bump said 53% of those tickets being sold doesn’t mean 49ers fans will account for 53% of the total audience.

“Let’s not get it twisted,” Bumpus said. “Niners fans travel every single year. They’ll be behind the bench. They’ll be sprinkled all across the stadium. They’re going to be loud, they’re going to be proud, but there’s no way that 36,432 seats have been sold to 49ers fans. Now, there are other third-party entities (outside of Vivid Seats) that give away or sell tickets, so that could heighten the number. But no, I had to debunk that.”

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Still, the Seahawks have seen increasing numbers of opposing fans flooding Lumen Field. During a Week 15 matchup last year against Green Bay, “Go Pack go” chants could be heard on the broadcast in the first half. After the Bills beat the Seahawks in Seattle, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was in awe of the number of Bills fans in attendance.

“Did you hear them out there?” he told reporters postgame. “I’ve never heard this place like that in all my years in the NFL.”

That wasn’t good news for the Seahawks, and the organization took notice of the trend. The team sent an email to season ticket holders this offseason warning that fans primarily using their tickets for resale purposes could face issues with renewal.

But there is another, more important factor the Seahawks need to control, too: their win-loss record.

The Seahawks went 3-6 at home in 2024, with two of those wins coming in the first three weeks of the season. From Week 5 to season’s end, Seahawks fans saw just one more win at home, a 16-6 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

A win in Week 1 isn’t just about setting a tone and beating a 49ers team that’s won their last four straight in Seattle. It’s also about re-establishing one of the loudest and best home-field advantages in football.

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“This crowd and the 12s are a weapon, we’ve just got to go out there and use them more. Make some plays and feed them chaos,” linebacker Ernest Jones told us on Thursday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ The Huddle.

Jones was asked what it’s like when crowd noise is surging and whether it acts as an advantage but added on his own that it’s on players to deliver for fans, too.

“That’s what we’re trying to do as a defense. Feed them chaos. And they’ll show up,” Jones said. “They show up for preseason games. I’ve almost played in every stadium and there’s no place like this. And I didn’t know how (awesome) it was, truthfully, because I played on the other side and didn’t hear much because our offense was going. But this is the loudest place.”

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