When the Seattle Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, it marked the end of the best season of Ken Walker’s career.
Now, having finished off the year as Super Bowl MVP by showing the world what his unique athleticism and physical traits were capable of when combined with a patience that had been lacking earlier in his career, Walker is set up to cash in as one of the best, if not the best, free agent running backs on the market this spring.
To that end, with the 2026 NFL Combine underway in Indianapolis, ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak is predicting that Walker to be one of the free agents who gets paid more than many may expect.
Certainly, as with any prediction, there is room for error. However, given the fact that Solak makes his prediction after having spent the week in Indianapolis at the combine provides a certain level of credibility to the report.
Specifically, it’s in Indianapolis where agents and general managers meet and mingle and discuss – purely hypothetically without tampering in any way, shape or form – the market prospects for impending free agents. This forms the foundation of free agency, giving both teams and players an understanding of where things sit, and creating the basis from which negotiations begin once the legal tampering period opens ahead of the official start of free agency.
For those curious, if the New York Jets do indeed use the franchise tag to retain the rights of Breece Hall, it would make Hall the fifth-highest paid running back in the league at $14.293M. Thus, if Walker winds up as a top five paid running back, as Solak predicts, it means a contract somewhere north of $15M a year could be a very real possibility.
A price tag that high would certainly seem to be more than the Seahawks are likely to pay, and would support Brady Henderson’s guess that there is a “less than fifty percent chance” Walker stays in Seattle in 2026, as he shared in an appearance on the Seahawks Forever podcast with Dan Viens Thursday.
Putting things together, it certainly seems that there is at least some level of expectation that the Seahawks will watch Walker leave, which could make running back a very interesting position to watch for fans through the offseason and into training camp.
