When the NFL was announcing the winners of different awards at the NFL Honors in 2026, comedian Druski purposefully chose to mispronounce Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba's name. Why the league allowed such disrespect is unknown.
But now, the NFL has seemingly chosen to dish out a bit of disrespect to JSN. The receiver posted on his Instagram page recently that he had received his award for Offensive Player of the Year, but the hardware says "Defensive Player of the Year." That is a ridiculous mistake.
Maybe some players might have simply called league offices and made the issue known, but the Seahawks are often less highly viewed by the national media because Seattle happens to be way out in the Pacific Northwest. Smith-Njigba's disrespect from the league is just an extension of how the organization is viewed.
NFL gives Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba an award with the wrong words
Sure, it's a laughable matter. Surely, whoever the NFL uses to make their trophies might need to be addressed. One mistake with such a high-level award should be viewed as a fireable offense. The contract shouldn't be renewed.
But good for JSN to expose the league.
In the IG post, Smith-Njigba shows the error on the trophy, and says, "It's getting disresectful, guys. 'Defense?' C'mon, bro." He then points out that only one word is word, but it is the key one. Literally, how could anyone who made the trophy miss that? Maybe an automated machine makes the awards, but one would hope a human being would double-check everything.
The positive part is that the situation might only serve to keep Jaxon Smith-Njigba motivated at an extremely high level. He is not only getting overlooked at times by reporters who would rather focus on the AJ Brown situation or Puka Nacua's personal trials, but now he needs to prove himself in the league again. He is worthy of having the trophy delivered with the correct wording.
Last season, the wideout led the league in receiving yards with 1,793, and he was named an Associated Press First-Team All-Pro. He broke several Seattle Seahawks records, too, including receiving yards in a season and receptions in a single season (119).
Moving forward, Smith-Njigba will need to perform at a high level, though repeating his number of receiving yards from last season might be difficult. It would be difficult for anyone. He had a historic season; his 1,793 yards were the eighth-most in NFL history.
He will get paid well to play well, however. This offseason, he signed a contract extension with the Seahawks for four years and as much as $168.6 million. His average yearly payout is $42.15 million, the highest ever for a wide receiver. He will stay in Seattle through at least 2031.
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