The Seahawks are at or near the top of the NFL mileage log every season, simply by virtue of the fact that Seattle is farther away from the rest of the league than any other NFL city.

Thanks to their trip to Munich to play Tampa Bay, the Seahawks will travel over 29,000 miles in 2022. That was recently contrasted against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will travel a mere 6,442 miles for their away games.

Some say that is unfair, but it is simple geography and has long been a challenge the Seahawks and other West Coast teams have to overcome. Like the 49ers and Raiders, the Seahawks often travel more than 28,000 miles in a season.

The NFL’s schedulers actually were kind to Seattle in plotting this European getaway. Tampa Bay was the only East Coast game the Hawks had on their schedule, so they really are traveling just 5,000 more miles (round trip) than they would have.

New Orleans (4,200 miles round trip) and Detroit (3,800) are the farthest the Hawks travel otherwise.

The Hawks also figure to get a Week 11 bye, coming off the long trip. That’s a good time to have a week off, especially if they are in the playoff chase then. (Hey, you never know what is going to happen.)

Another bonus: The NFL also did not steal one of Seattle’s nine home games. Oakland and the L.A. Rams had to “host” London games in 2019, so the NFL is not averse to making West Coast teams burn a home game on a long trip. But the league didn’t do that to the Seahawks.

The 2020 season actually featured more miles for the Hawks (over 29,800) because they went to five Eastern cities – Atlanta, Miami, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Washington – and also had to play the 49ers at Arizona due to pandemic restrictions in Santa Clara County, where the 49ers play their home games. The move to Arizona added about 800 miles.

The Seahawks went to London in the 2018 season, but they had only one East Coast game (at Carolina), so they tallied fewer miles (around 29,100) than they did in 2020.

The travel has not affected the Seahawks in recent years. Pete Carroll wisely has had his team leave Friday for Sunday games so his players have a full day to acclimate.

The Seahawks won their London game against the Raiders in 2018, and they have conquered the concept of 10 a.m. games as well, going 13-1 over the past four seasons.

The Munich game against the Bucs will start at 6:30 a.m. PT, though, so that could prove a challenge.

Meanwhile, Russell Wilson may be gone from Seattle, but he is still traveling a lot with his new team. Denver, which plays in London, is No. 2 behind Seattle at 27,398 miles.