{"id":758378,"date":"2026-02-17T13:55:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T13:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758378\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T13:55:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T13:55:30","slug":"seahawks-make-crucial-decision-about-super-bowl-mvp-kenneth-walker-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/758378\/","title":{"rendered":"Seahawks make crucial decision about Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The cost of winning the Super Bowl is already coming due in Seattle.<\/p>\n<p>The Seahawks are unlikely to place the franchise tag on Kenneth Walker III, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AdamSchefter\/status\/2023716454705623200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">according to ESPN<\/a>, who is preparing to enter free agency after a wildly successful playoff run which ended with the Seahawks <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/08\/sports\/heroes-zeros-from-seahawks-super-bowl-2026-win-over-patriots\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">defeating the Patriots, 29-13, in the Super Bowl<\/a> and the running back earning MVP honors in the game.<\/p>\n<p>Seattle has several free agents due for new contracts, including two secondary starters in Coby Bryant and Tariq Woolen who will command a hefty price tag in free agency.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38514532\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/seattle-seahawks-quarterback-sam-darnold-120765712_220cae.jpg\" alt=\"Seattle Seahawks players Sam Darnold and Kenneth Walker III celebrate their Super Bowl 60 victory.\" class=\"wp-image-38514532\"  \/>Kenneth Walker is hoping for a big raise this offseason but it won\u2019t be the franchise tag.  AP<\/p>\n<p>The Seahawks also acquired Rashid Shaheed ahead of the trade deadline, and they surely hope to re-sign him after he made a serious contribution on special teams and even made some plays on offense.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps, though, their biggest expense will be negotiating with superstar receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. <\/p>\n<p>While not a free agent this offseason, Smith-Njigba has a team option for the 2027 season, which Seattle likely hopes to tear up and give him a raise over multiple seasons.<\/p>\n<p>It will be interesting to see whether there is money left over for Walker after he carried Seattle\u2019s offense to a Super Bowl victory.<\/p>\n<p>Walker split time during the regular season with Zach Charbonnet, though Charbonnet will likely miss most of the 2026 season with a torn ACL he sustained in the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the 49ers.<\/p>\n<p>Walker ran for 313 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs and rushed 27 times in the Super Bowl against the Patriots for 135 yards.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38514539\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/seattle-seahawks-general-manager-john-120745262.jpg\" alt=\"Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider wearing a Seahawks cap and sunglasses.\" class=\"wp-image-38514539\"  \/>Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has a lot of money to dish out.  IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p>Despite ruling out the franchise tag for Walker, which would be about $14.2 million for next season, it appears that Seattle is still focused on bringing back their star running back. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/11\/sports\/seahawks-gms-parade-contract-joke-falls-flat-with-kenneth-walker\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">General manager John Schneider joked<\/a> that he and Walker were ready to hit the negotiating tables at the Super Bowl parade in an awkward moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKen Walker being the MVP \u2014 let\u2019s go! He tried negotiating with me five minutes ago,\u201d Schneider joked during the parade. \u201cIt was really weird.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pro Football Focus projected that Walker, 25, would receive a three-year $27 million contract this offseason. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cost of winning the Super Bowl is already coming due in Seattle. The Seahawks are unlikely to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,1878,238,237,261,2635,9,41484],"class_list":["post-758378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seattle-seahawks","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-sam-darnold","tag-seahawks","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-seattleseahawks","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl-2026"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116086317706243157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}