Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua linked to a brewing offseason clash

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams may be at the top of the list when it comes to NFL rivalries, if not at the very top altogether. As far as division rivals go, it's hard to find two other teams that draw more excitement and anticipation than the NFC West pair. 

Last season, fanbases from both Seattle and LA were treated to three epic matchups in the regular season and playoffs. The hope and expectation is that it will continue into next season and for years to come. While NFL fans await next season's showdowns, there is a high possibility of another showdown of a different kind before next season.

A showdown that still involves the Rams and Seahawks, but focused more on two players: Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua. Both are two of the best wide receivers across the NFL landscape today, and both are expected to cash in demonstrably in the near future. The question, however, is who will get paid first and what the impact will be.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba's and Puka Nacua's new deals will reset the wide receiver market in considerable fashion

In the current era of football, when it comes to wide receivers, it always seems to be a race to see who can get paid the most, year after year. The top-paid wideouts want to be at the top, but their place there doesn't last, or, at least, that's how the cookie has crumbled in recent years. 

Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson are widely held as the league's top two wideouts, but they're also the top two paid at the position. However, neither has held that achievement for more than a season. Others, such as Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp, and Davante Adams, have also spent time as the league's top-paid wide receiver.

Incredibly, eight of the ten largest wide receiver deals in league history came in 2024 (A.J. Brown, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, DJ Moore, Devonta Smith, Ceedee Lamb, Hill, and Jefferson), and it's only exploded further in the two years to follow with Chase’s deal last year.

So, while wideouts climb up and knock off the reigning top dollar getter every season, it's only logical to assume this trend will continue on, and it's going to, now that the Seahawks have to pay Smith-Njigba, and the Rams have to pay Nacua. 

What makes this eventual development more exciting is the connection between the two players, as they're division rivals on two of the best teams in the NFL. Both JSN and Nacua will prefer to be paid higher than the other, so that's another rivalry standoff in its own right. The question is: who will it be?

With Nacua going into a contract year, and Smith-Njigba not (he has a fifth-year option), it makes sense for Nacua to get paid first, because the Seahawks don't necessarily have to pay JSN right now. That said, if the Seahawks want JSN's deal to totally reset the wide receiver market before someone else can, they might think about locking up JSN before the Rams lock up Nacua. 

It truly will be an exciting race, and either way, whoever gets their money first, the market will reset, and it should be the most expensive one in league history. Which head office caves first will be interesting to watch because whoever comes second will surely have to pay up more. 

One thing is for sure: Chase's spot at the top will soon be overtaken by either Smith-Njigba or Nacua, or both. The talent spread among wide receivers today is unlike anything we've ever seen in the NFL, and so is the amount of dollars being handed out — it's unprecedented.

Smith-Njigba's eventual contract likely played a part in general manager John Schneider letting Kenneth Walker III leave in free agency, and it makes sense if that is the case. JSN has become such a high priority that the Seahawks would be foolish not to lock him up long-term.

And given the Rams aren't moving divisions any time soon, for the Seahawks to have a weapon that mirrors Nacua is all the more important.