The NFL is designed for consistent success to be difficult. When a team rises quickly to the top, it’s a struggle to avoid crashing right back down.
The Seattle Seahawks have come out of nowhere this season to become true contenders in the NFC. Superstar receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba has led the charge on offense, setting a record-breaking pace through the first two-thirds of the year.
But with the young wideout's success comes a daunting problem that will threaten the continuity of the Seahawks' dominance. Smith-Njigba will be ready for a new contract soon, and the quickly-rising value of the deal will make things much more difficult on Seattle's front office moving forward.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba's contract extension could put Seahawks in a difficult position
Smith-Njigba is still on his rookie contract at the moment. In fact, he'll still be under contract in 2026 before the Seahawks have the chance to exercise a team option in 2027. But as he nears his final guaranteed year with the team, an extension is surely looming.
The Seahawks may choose to negotiate the deal in the upcoming offseason, coming off of what should be a league-leading campaign for the receiver.
Cincinnati Bengals wideout Ja'Marr Chase reset the receiver market back in March when he signed a four-year, $161million deal with an average annual value just over $40 million. He's the highest-paid receiver in the NFL by a wide margin, but other deals may soon surpass his.
In the months since Chase's contract extension, a few of the league's top edge defenders signed deals worth a bit more. Green Bay Packers defender Micah Parsons struck a deal worth $47 million per year, making him the richest non-quarterback in football.
Of course, the two positions won't get paid based on the progression of the other's market, but one can still inform the other. Smith-Njigba's agent will likely point to the receiver's impact on the Seahawks' success and argue for a contract in the range of what players like Parsons have recently signed.
The Seahawks are set to have fairly limited cap space in the coming seasons, but they're still set up well to endure JSN's extension. Sam Darnold is on a three-year deal at a relatively low cost, so Seattle doesn't have to deal with the heavy quarterback contract that other contenders carry.
The superstar receiver absolutely deserves to be paid what he's worth, but the deal will leave the Seahawks with limited flexibility in the coming years.