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Besides signing a record contract extension with the Seattle Seahawks in March, a lot of things have gone right for Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2026.
A month before Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.8 million contract with $120 million guaranteed, making the 24-year-old the highest-paid receiver in the NFL, he was a key cog on the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning team.
Shortly before Super Bowl 60, Smith-Njigba was named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year after setting the team record for receiving yards (1,793) and receptions (119) in a season. After the Seahawks’ first day of minicamp practice Tuesday, Smith-Njigba said he considered the personal and team-wide accolades he received a “blessing.”
“This year has been great,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s brought me a lot of great things, things to learn and overcome, trophies and parades and stuff like that. So, it’s been a blessing. It’s been an incredible year.
“And we’re six months into the year, and I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
There’s plenty of time before the Seahawks open the season with a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots on Sept. 9 in Seattle, which will give Smith-Njigba a chance to return home to Texas to train this offseason. But when Smith-Njigba returns to Seattle later this summer, he looks forward to picking up where he and the Seahawks left off.
Smith-Njigba, quarterback Sam Darnold and the rest of Seattle’s offense are in the early stages of learning the system that first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is instituting. The offensive scheme should be similar to that of former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, now coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
After a few meetings and training sessions with Fleury, Smith-Njigba found him a fairly straightforward coach.
“All the guys, we’re excited to be back and learning together and being together and solving this problem,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s been great.”
On a personal level, the fourth-year forward believes he can improve Fleury’s offense in his second straight season alongside Darnold and receivers Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed. The 6-foot, 202-pound Smith-Njigba said he believes he can get bigger, faster and stronger before the 2026 season.
He has enough disposable income to progress in those areas, but Smith-Njigba has yet to make any drastic changes on a personal level since signing his extension.
Even though he finds himself on lists like Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in Sports in 2026,” Smith-Njigba, cool and collected, has sought to keep a low profile. Even as the accomplishments and milestones continue to pile up, Smith-Njigba vows to stay hungry on the field and take it slow.
“I’m a simple man, that’s what I’m really trying to say,” Smith-Njigba said. “I like to play ball, I like to be here, I like to come home and relax.”
Associated Press reporting.
