Jaxon Smith-Njigba is being paid handsomely for his breakout season.
The Seahawks star receiver and AP Offensive Player of the Year received a four-year, $168.8 million extension Monday, making him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history, ESPN reported.
Smith-Njigba will make an average of $42.15 million per year and includes $120 million in guaranteed money.
In his third year in the league, Smith-Njigba became one of the game’s newest stars. He led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards on 119 catches while hauling in 10 touchdowns. He added another 199 in the playoffs to lead Seattle to its second Super Bowl in franchise history in February.
But that breakout didn’t come out of nowhere. In his first two years, Smith-Njigba showed his potential. After being drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, he finished with 628 yards in his rookie season, then broke the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time with 1,130 yards in 2024.
Monday’s deal comes after comments Smith-Njigba made following the Super Bowl that he should be the NFL’s highest-paid receiver.
“I believe I deserve to be the highest-paid in my position,” Smith-Njigba told WFAA in his hometown of Dallas.
“Just what I give to the game and the community, I give it my all. And I think that’s worth a lot more.”
Now, that’s become a reality.
In 2026, the Seahawks will run it back with nearly the same receiving corps as last year’s Super-Bowl-winning unit. Alongside the NFL’s best receiver is former Rams standout Cooper Kupp, trade deadline acquisition Rashid Shaheed — who Seattle re-signed for three years, $51 million in free agency — and youngsters Jake Bobo and Tory Horton.
They’ll look to recreate the magic the Seahawks conjured in 2025. They went 14-3 during the regular season, ending the 17-game slate on a seven-game win streak.
In the playoffs, Seattle was just as dominant, demolishing the 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional round and edging the Rams by four points in the NFL Championship.
Against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Seahawks’ defense — nicknamed “The Dark Side” — endlessly hounded quarterback Drake Maye en route to a 29-13 win.
Smith-Njigba had just 27 yards in the big game, though he poured in 153 to prevail over Los Angeles.
He’ll look to do it all over again in 2026, this time with some extra cash in his wallet.
