After winning Offensive Rookie of the Yr and a Super Bowl in 2025, Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. The Seahawks will prioritize a brand new deal for the three-year veteran, but they might unsurprisingly should pay a steep price to lock him up.
Smith-Njigba told Jonah Javad of WFAA he’s “not too pressed” to work out an extension immediately. At the identical time, though, the 24-year-old declared, “I consider I should be the best paid at my position.”
That’s not an outlandish statement, especially with the salary cap continuously on the rise. The cap in 2025 was $279.2MM. It’s poised to climb anywhere from $301.2MM to $305.7MM next season. Smith-Njigba and Rams rival receiver Puka Nacua, who’s also in line for an extension this offseason, must be among the many beneficiaries.
Each JSN and Nacua have arguments to surpass the contract the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase secured last March. Chase inked a four-year, $161MM pact with $112MM in guaranteed money last March. He now tops his position in total money, average annual value and guarantees.
Because the Seahawks drafted Smith-Njigba twentieth overall in 2023, he has emerged as one more star receiver from Ohio State. Smith-Njigba, who has never missed a game, has seen his production steadily increase in each season.
A starter in only three games as a rookie, Smith-Njigba hauled in 63 receptions for 628 yards and 4 touchdowns. He became a full-time starter in Yr 2, during which his numbers skyrocketed to 100-1,130-six. The uptick in production led to the primary of two straight Pro Bowls for the 6-foot, 197-pounder.
Smith-Njigba spent the overwhelming majority of his first two years working with a middling quarterback in Geno Smith, however the Seahawks shook up their QB room to great ends in 2025. A number of days before the free agent market opened, the Seahawks agreed to send Smith to the Raiders for a third-round pick. That temporarily left them and not using a starter, however the Seahawks addressed the emptiness just a few days later.
After a long-awaited and unexpected breakout 2024 with the Vikings, former first-rounder Sam Darnold joined the Seahawks on a three-year, $100.5MM pact. Now a championship-winning QB, Darnold hit it off with Smith-Njigba of their first season together. The wideout ranked first within the league in yards (1,793), tied for first in 20-plus yard receptions (27), fourth in catches (119), fifth in targets (163), and tied for sixth in TDs (10). Together with OPOY and Pro Bowl honors, he was named a first-team All-Pro.
While Smith-Njigba has yet one more guaranteed season on his rookie contract, the Seahawks will log off on his fifth-year option by May 1. Doing so would a minimum of temporarily set Smith-Njigba as much as play 2027 on a projected $24.39MM salary. That appears like a bargain for JSN, who may land a record extension before then.