Kenneth Gainwell voted Steelers MVP

Running back Kenneth Gainwell has been voted as the Steelers MVP for the 2025 season by his teammates, Pittsburgh announced Friday.

Gainwell signed a one-year, $1.79-million deal with the Steelers over the offseason, without many high expectations from the media entering the season.

However, over the course of 2025 he emerged as one of the top offensive weapons on the team, with 527 rushing yards (4.8 per carry), 422 receiving yards on a team-best 65 receptions, and seven total touchdowns. With one game remaining in the regular season, he’s 51 scrimmage yards away from 1,000 on the season.

He’s provided some of the Steelers’ top highlights of the year.

Gainwell has also contributed on special teams, with 25 kickoff returns for 601 yards this year.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed the best year of his career thus far in 2025. He’s now the first running back to win the Steelers’ MVP award since Le’Veon Bell in 2016, and the first offensive player since wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in 2018.

Pittsburgh outside linebacker T.J. Watt had won five of the last six MVP awards.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said earlier this season that his goal was to get Gainwell paid this offseason. And the running back’s newest honor shows his teammates believe in that as well.