Star NFL running back Alvin Kamara has earned favorite son status in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The former Tennessee Volunteer emerged as a rookie of the year and five-time Pro Bowler for the New Orleans Saints after leaving the college football ranks in 2016.
That’s why a crowd of 101,000 fans went crazy at the sight of Kamara during the Savannah Bananas game on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
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Kamara entered the game in the first inning as a pinch-runner and trotted to the plate on a home run by the Bananas’ Dan Oberst. The Texas Tailgaters earned a 4-3 victory over Savannah before the second-largest crowd in Banana Ball history.
After being introduced, Kamara came skipping onto the field to hype up the crowd. As he got to first base, Kamara faked a hamstring injury before launching into a dance battle with Bananas first-base dance coach Maceo Harrison to “Walk It Out” by DJ Unk.
Kamara’s contract status
The reception he got Saturday in Tennessee probably felt especially good for the 30-year-old Kamara considering his uncertain NFL future.
The nine-year pro is entering the final year of his contract after a subpar 2025 season. Kamara missed the final six games of the campaign after suffering an MCL sprain on Nov. 23. He finished with career lows in rushing yards (471) and receiving yards (178) and scored just one touchdown.
Last week, Saints GM Mickey Loomis was noncommittal about Kamara’s future in New Orleans. The versatile back has a $10.5 million cap hit for 2026 and is a candidate for release after June 1.
“We’re just trying to see how he’s going to fit on our roster,” Loomis said, per NFL.com. “Obviously there’s a resource management element to it. We’ll get to that over the next week or two.”