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Brady Henderson
SEATTLE — While addressing the crowd at Lumen Field at the start of the Seahawks’ championship parade earlier this month, general manager John Schneider mentioned only one player by name. Raising a red Solo cup in his right hand, he toasted to running back Kenneth Walker III’s 161-yard performance in Super Bowl LX, then joined fans in chants of «MVP.»
What Seattle’s top decision-maker said right before that about the free-agent-to-be was purely in jest.
«He tried negotiating with me five minutes ago,» Schneider joked. «It was really weird.»
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If only a new deal could have been hammered out over a few minutes of alcohol-fueled contract talks. Actual, clear-headed discussion began this week with the Seahawks and Walker’s representatives at Aura Sports meeting at the combine, and it is far from certain that they’ll eventually lead to an agreement.
With ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting last week that Walker is not expected to receive the franchise or transition tag from the Seahawks, there’s a real possibility that he signs elsewhere when free agency begins next week. If so, he’d become only the fourth player all-time to win Super Bowl MVP and begin the following season on another team.
While speaking with reporters in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Schneider conveyed a sense that the Seahawks are prepared for that outcome unless the two sides can work out a deal on the team’s terms.
«We’d love to have Ken back, and he knows this better than anybody — it’s about our 70 and our collective and what that’s going to look like,» Schneider said. «We’ll have those meetings down here. We’ll start talking to all the agents and we’ll have a better feel of where we’re going towards the end of the week.»
Schneider declined to comment on a potential tag for Walker, but the report that he won’t use it was another indication that he’ll take a disciplined approach to negotiations — even with the specter of Zach Charbonnet missing much of next season as the other half of Seattle’s backfield tandem recovers from a torn ACL.
While sharing snaps with Charbonnet in 2025, Walker totaled 1,309 scrimmage yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry during the regular season, both career highs. It was arguably his best season since he entered the NFL as a second-round pick in 2022 despite the fact he scored a career-low five touchdowns while ceding carries to Charbonnet at the goal line.
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He showed his home-run ability when he broke free for a 55-yard touchdown in the Seahawks’ Week 16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. With the NFC West and conference’s top seed on the line against the San Francisco 49ers two weeks later, he delivered one of the seasons’ most memorable plays — an improbable conversion on third-and-17 to extend a field-goal drive in the third quarter of Seattle’s 13-3 win.
Over the first 15 weeks, Walker ranked 23rd among running backs at 4.4 yards per carry. Over the final three games of the regular season, a stretch in which he rushed for 248 yards, he was fifth at 5.9 YPC.
Walker continued his tear in the playoffs. In the divisional round against San Francisco, the game in which Charbonnet injured his knee, he totaled 145 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on 22 touches. He scored again in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams, totaling 111 yards on 23 touches.
Then came Walker’s performance in the Super Bowl, which included 135 yards on 27 carries — the second-most of his career. A holding penalty wiped out a 49-yard touchdown run that might have made him a unanimous choice for MVP.
At his news conference the next morning, Walker reflected on the changes he made over the offseason to take better care of his body. They included more sleep — eight or nine hours per night compared to four or five previously. «It was really important,» he said. «At the time I didn’t sleep much. I was eating wrong. So really just changing my routine, really being more disciplined in everything I do has made a big difference.»
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But as the Seahawks decide on how much money they’re willing to guarantee Walker in a contract offer, they will undoubtedly weigh the durability issues he had over his first three seasons along with how he stayed healthy throughout a contract year. And even though they might not have Charbonnet until well past the start of next season, they may be reluctant to pay top-end starter money to someone they’d likely prefer to keep in a time-sharing role.
One contract analyst from a prominent agency estimated that Walker will command a three-year deal worth around $10 million in annual average. Only nine running backs currently make that much per year. Dallas recently re-signed Javonte Williams for $24 million over three years, while the New York Jets have indicated they’re likely to keep Breece Hall on a franchise or transition tag, with OverTheCap.com projecting those to cost around $14.5 million and $11.7 million, respectively.
The best hope for the Seahawks getting a deal done with Walker is that a buyer’s market for running backs keeps his price in Seattle’s preferred territory. Otherwise, he’ll likely go the way of former Super Bowl MVPs such as Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson (XXXVII), Green Bay Packers wide receiver/kick returner Desmond Howard (XXXI) and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown (XXX), who are the only players to change teams after winning the award.
«We won a Super Bowl with him,» coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday in Indianapolis. «I don’t know what his stats are, but I know he affected every game in a pretty significant manner, so I thought he had a heck of a season, and I think it can get even better. He’s so talented. It’s like, let’s keep pushing the envelope, man. Let’s take it to the next level.»
ESPN’s Ben Baby and Jordan Raanan contributed to this story.
