A month after signing a four-year, $168.8 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba says 2026 has already brought “great things”—and that he’s now focused on fitting into a new offensive system with help from first-year coor
SEATTLE — The handshake came in March, and then the numbers followed. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is already living in the afterglow of a record-setting season, and he’s doing it with the kind of calm that makes the celebration feel less like a finish line and more like fuel.
In March, the Seattle Seahawks signed Smith-Njigba to a four-year, $168.8 million contract extension with $120 million guaranteed. At 24 years old, he became the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL. A month before the deal. he was a key part of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning team. and shortly before Super Bowl 60 he was named AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. That came after setting team records with 1,793 receiving yards and 119 receptions in a season.
After the Seahawks’ first day of minicamp practices on Tuesday, Smith-Njigba called it all a “blessing,” crediting both the personal momentum and what the team earned together.
“This year has been great,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s brought me a lot of great things, and things to learn and overcome and trophies and parades and stuff like that. So, it’s been a blessing. It’s been an amazing year.
“And, we’re six months into the year, and I’m looking forward to the rest of it.”
Even with the accolades stacked behind him, Smith-Njigba’s attention is pulled forward. The Seahawks are still months away from their season opener—a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots on Sept. 9 in Seattle. After that, he expects to head home to Texas to train during the offseason.
When he returns later this summer, he’ll be stepping back into a different kind of challenge: learning the offense the way it’s being installed.
Smith-Njigba. along with quarterback Sam Darnold and the rest of Seattle’s offense. is in the early stages of the system being led by first-year offensive coordinator Brian Fleury. The scheme is expected to be similar to the offense Fleury worked from. with former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak now serving as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
After “a handful of meetings and practices” with Fleury, Smith-Njigba said the transition hasn’t felt confusing so far.
“After a handful of meetings and practices with Fleury, Smith-Njigba has found him to be a fairly straight-forward coach,” the wide receiver said. “All the guys, we’re excited to be back and learn together and be together and figure this thing out,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s been awesome.”
What comes next is both physical and practical. In his second consecutive season alongside Darnold and wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed, Smith-Njigba believes he can grow into Fleury’s offense by improving his own game.
On a personal level, the fourth-year wideout—listed at 6-foot and 202 pounds—said he thinks he can get bigger, faster and stronger ahead of the 2026 season. He has the financial flexibility to make those changes, but he said he hasn’t made any drastic changes since signing his extension.
There are also reminders of how visible his success has become. Even as Smith-Njigba appears on lists like Time magazine’s “The Top 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026,” he’s trying to keep the spotlight from reshaping how he approaches work.
Smith-Njigba says the goal is to stay hungry on the field while keeping his life outside football from becoming a distraction.
“I’m a simple man, that’s what I’m really trying to say,” Smith-Njigba said. “I love to play ball, I love to be here, I love to go home and chill.”
And so, for now, the record books and the contract are real—but so is the next lesson: build the offense into his routine, then pick up where the Seahawks left off after the first big celebration of 2026.
Seattle Seahawks Jaxon Smith-Njigba NFL Brian Fleury Sam Darnold Cooper Kupp Rashid Shaheed minicamp contract extension Super Bowl rematch New England Patriots
4 years $168.8M is wild.
So they’re playing the Patriots again like that’s some kind of good thing? I mean if they won the Super Bowl then cool but why we talking about minicamp like it changes anything lol. Also he’s from Texas right? I feel like every NFL player trains at home anyway.
Wait it says “first-year coor” which is what, coordinator? I’m guessing the new offense gonna be more complicated and he’s trying not to mess up routes. But also they mention he was key to the Super Bowl-winning team like last month… time is weird. Either way contract numbers always sound fake big, so I’ll believe it when I see catches in September.
I swear these teams always say “blessing” and “lessons” like that means something. Like okay he learned the system, but does the system learn the QB too? And $120 million guaranteed?? That’s more money than my whole neighborhood makes in like… a lifetime. I’m just saying if he’s the highest paid WR then he better start cooking right away, no parades excuses.