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NFL, American Football Herren, USA NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Jan 17, 2026 Seattle, WA, USA Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III 9 leaves the field following an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Seattle Lumen Field WA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKevinxNgx 20260117_rtc_cf9_0216
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Jan 17, 2026 Seattle, WA, USA Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III 9 leaves the field following an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Seattle Lumen Field WA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKevinxNgx 20260117_rtc_cf9_0216
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Jan 17, 2026 Seattle, WA, USA Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III 9 leaves the field following an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Seattle Lumen Field WA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKevinxNgx 20260117_rtc_cf9_0216
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Jan 17, 2026 Seattle, WA, USA Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III 9 leaves the field following an NFC Divisional Round game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field. Seattle Lumen Field WA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xKevinxNgx 20260117_rtc_cf9_0216
Essentials Inside The Story
- Placing the franchise tag on Walker would cost approximately $14.5 million
- Kenneth Walker III is set to hit free agency on March 11
- Walker is reportedly gaining interest from multiple teams
The Seahawks are reportedly not moving forward with Kenneth Walker III. So, the Super Bowl LX MVP has decided to test the open market, per the latest updates out of the league.
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“Kenneth Walker III, who sounds like he’s generating enough outside interest to spell the end of his time in Seattle,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported on May 1.
The Texans are reportedly interested in signing the running back, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC. The Kansas City Chiefs are also in the mix, and per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, KC could be “an interesting suitor.” And the list doesn’t end there. The Broncos have also thrown their name into the hat for Walker.
Walker is set to hit free agency on March 11, when the new league year officially opens. Teams can begin reaching out to his agent as early as March 9, when the legal tampering window starts.
The SB MVP just wrapped up his four-year, $8.44 million rookie contract with the Seahawks, where his average annual salary sat at $2.11 million. Spotrac now projects his market value at $9.01 million per year. However, given the number of teams chasing him, that figure could climb even higher.
Senior NFL Analyst Tony Pauline at EssentiallySports projects Walker’s value could jump to $11 million annually once the bidding war picks up. And even at that number, it would be a bargain for a player of Walker’s caliber.
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der Kampf um den Football, Kenneth Walker III 9 Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl, LX, Football, NFL, American Football Herren, USA 08.02.2026 Santa Clara Kalifornien Vereinigte Staaten *** the battle for the football, Kenneth Walker III 9 Seattle Seahawks , New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl, LX, Football, NFL, 08 02 2026 Santa Clara California United States Copyright: xkolbert-press/ChristianxKolbertx
For Seattle, Walker was as reliable as they come. He wrapped up the regular season with 1,027 rushing yards on 221 attempts and five touchdowns. He also added 31 catches for 282 yards out of the backfield. Then the playoffs came, and Walker showed exactly why he earned the MVP award.
In the Divisional Round against the 49ers, Seattle posted 175 total rushing yards, and Walker accounted for 116 of them. Then, in Super Bowl LX itself, Seattle ran for 141 yards as a team, and Walker racked up 135 of those yards himself. That is the kind of impact his potential exit would leave behind.
Still, the Seahawks are dealing with several key players hitting free agency this offseason, which means tough decisions are coming for the front office. Seattle can only franchise tag one player, and if they use it on Walker, his price would shoot up to approximately $14.5 million for the year, per ESPN. That is a number the team clearly wants to avoid, which is why they are not expected to use the tag at all.
Even so, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has nothing but good things to say about his running back, making it clear he wants to find a way to keep Walker in Seattle.
Coach Macdonald wants Kenneth Walker back, but the market has other plans
The reality is that with this many teams pursuing him, Walker’s price is only going one direction: up. According to Sports Illustrated, Seattle could try to re-sign Walker in the “$10 million-per-year range,” and Macdonald has hinted that the team is working toward a plan that benefits everyone.
“We won a Super Bowl with him,” Macdonald said at the combine, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “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.”
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA NFC Divisional Round-San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks Jan 17, 2026 Seattle, WA, USA Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III 9 scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half in an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. Seattle Lumen Field WA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStevenxBisigx 20260117_rtc_ab9_0124
And Walker may actually be open to taking that kind of offer. He has spent his entire professional career in Seattle since being drafted in 2022. Seahawks general manager John Schneider has made his feelings clear, saying he would “love to have Ken back.”
But with new teams now stepping forward and dangling far bigger contracts, that reunion plan may be harder to pull off than anyone in Seattle would like to admit. Should Walker sign with another franchise, he would join a very short list of players who changed teams immediately after winning Super Bowl MVP.
Only three players in history have done it. Dexter Jackson after Super Bowl XXXVII, Desmond Howard after Super Bowl XXXI, and Larry Brown after Super Bowl XXX. Walker would be the fourth, and perhaps the most decorated runner on that list.