Kenneth Walker III Wins Super Bowl MVP Award: Now Seahawks Must Decide His Future

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by Matthew MendivesFebruary 9, 2026, 9:25 pm >

Kenneth Walker III established his name in NFL history after winning the Super Bowl MVP award.

Walker III had 135 yards on 27 carries. Walker III had the most carries in a Super Bowl game since Michael Pittman ran 28 times for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Walker III started the game off with a 10-yard rush. Toward the start of the second quarter, he rushed for 30 yards on a play. This was his longest rush of the game. The drive eventually ended in a field goal.

Walker III had 27 yards on a single drive late in the fourth quarter. This put the Seattle Seahawks in field-goal range and helped extend the lead to 22-7. The Seahawks won 29-13.

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Walker III was one of 17 running backs to rush for 1,000 or more yards during the regular season. During the regular season, he shared carries with his backup, Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet got injured during the divisional round game against the San Francisco 49ers. Walker III led all running backs with more than 20 carries in the playoffs in yards per carry with 4.8.

The Seahawks will need to decide whether to keep Walker III. He was on the final season of his rookie contract. His cap hit was just 0.96%. Most Super Bowl-winning teams tend to have running backs with small cap hits. However, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last season, with Saquon Barkley accounting for a notable portion of the salary cap.

Walker III is eligible for the franchise tag, which would bring him back for a one-year, $14 million contract. The Seahawks have until March 4 to give a franchise tag to Walker III. They can work on an extension at any time as well.