A handful of NFL front-office executives praised the Kansas City Chiefs last week for the contract they gave running back Kenneth Walker III in March, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported.
Walker signed a three-year, $43.05 million deal that averages $14.35 million per season. It includes $28.7 million fully guaranteed and a $13 million signing bonus, and his 2026 base salary is $1.215 million.
The running back market moved after that.
Three backs landed deals this summer averaging more than $20 million per year. Jahmyr Gibbs signed a three-year, $67.5 million extension with the Detroit Lions, days after Bijan Robinson got three years and $66.75 million from the Atlanta Falcons. Jonathan Taylor’s reworked deal with the Indianapolis Colts averages $22 million.
Walker’s average ranked fourth among running backs when he signed. It now ranks ninth, according to Spotrac.
Schefter wrote that executives credited Kansas City both for the player it landed and for getting the deal done before the market spiked. He did not name the executives.
Walker then delivered in his Chiefs debut. He ran 23 times for 173 yards in Monday night’s 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos and added three catches for 18 yards.
He scored twice. The first came on a 60-yard run on fourth down in the third quarter, and the second on a 2-yard shovel pass from Patrick Mahomes early in the fourth.
Two of his carries went for 20 yards or more. Citing ESPN research, Schefter noted that total already tops what every Chiefs running back produced across the entire 2025 season.
Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined for one such run last year, the fewest in the league, Nate Taylor of ESPN reported before the season. Kansas City finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
The 173 rushing yards and 191 scrimmage yards were both career highs. Walker broke a league-most 14 tackles, and the NFL named him AFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.
Mahomes said after the game that he had pointed to Walker when asked earlier what would change about the offense.
“I told you all, literally, like first press conference. Y’all were asking, what’s the difference with our offense? And I said, K9. Like, it’s just that simple,” Mahomes said.
Walker arrived as the reigning Super Bowl LX MVP. He ran for 135 yards in Seattle’s win over the New England Patriots in that game.
In 2025, the 2022 second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks ran for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns and totaled 1,309 scrimmage yards in 17 games. Ten of his runs went for at least 20 yards, which ranked third in the league.
Kansas City also built itself an exit. The contract carries no guaranteed money in 2028, leaving the final year effectively a team option.
Behind Walker, the Chiefs carry 2026 fifth-round pick Emmett Johnson, Emari Demercado and Brashard Smith. Demercado signed a one-year deal in March.
Should Walker keep carrying that workload, the Chiefs will be paying him roughly $8 million a year less than Gibbs.
The next comparison comes Sunday night. Kansas City hosts Taylor and the Colts at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, a week after Taylor ran 19 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
