EXCLUSIVE: The survival story of how the Seattle Seahawks remained in the Pacific Northwest is set to be told in a new documentary from Marshawn Lynch and Victory Sports.
Lynch, nicknamed Beast Mode, played for the Seahawks between 2010-2015 and helped them to the Super Bow XLVIII title in 2013 by beating the Denver Broncos. He will exec produce the doc, which is titled 12 (after the team’s nickname).
In the mid-1990s, the Seahawks were on the verge of relocating to Anaheim after Ken Behring and Ken Hofmann purchased the team in 1988. The pair had transferred the team’s operations to California and eventually sold the team to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1997.
The feature doc will explore how the fan base and a group of civic leaders came together to keep their team in Seattle. It will feature exclusive interviews, never-before-seen archival footage and dramatic re-creations as it chronicles the battle to pass Referendum 48.
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Lynch has been increasingly involved in the entertainment industry with roles in the third season of HBO’s Euphoria; Netflix’s Murderville; indie film Bottoms; an upcoming biopic on Mac Dre, where he serves as a producer alongside Stephen Curry; as well as in Eddie Murphy action comedy The Pickup and heist thriller Eenie Meanie.
Daniel Mogg, who started out working on Sunday Night Football before becoming chief creative officer for Russell Wilson’s production company West2East Empire, will direct. Madeline Down, who has worked on a number of live productions for the Seahawks, will lead production.
Victory Sports Media, which was founded by former Brillstein agent and producer Jai Khanna and financier-strategist Parag Parikh, will finance and produce. The company is behind Peacock’s Dream Big: The Michelle Wie Story and TNT series The Great Debate with Charles Barkley.
“I’m hella appreciative to be part of the team working on this film. I’ll be honest, a lot of this story I knew nothing about, but once I heard it and did my own digging, it made me understand and see why there is so much love for the Seahawks and the city of Seattle. The 12’s have always shown me love, hopefully they’ll see and feel thru this doc that it’s mutual,” said Lynch.
“This project captures the rare intersection of sports, civic identity and grassroots power. We’re thrilled — and lucky — to have Marshawn join us. His authentic connection to Seattle and his reach across sports and culture make him an invaluable partner,” added Khanna and Parikh.
