Jaxon Smith-Njigba's Brother Calls Out NFL's Treatment of Seahawks WR
On Monday evening, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba took to social media to point out an egregious error made by the NFL.
The league sent JSN a trophy to recognize his Offensive Player of the Year season. But, the side of the award was etched with this incorrect inscription: “2025 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR.”
“It’s getting disrespectful at this point,” Smith-Njigba wrote on Instagram.
“Just keep the award at this point. Leave it in the history books tho,” he added in a follow-up post.
Smith-Njibga’s older brother, Canaan, went on social media to point out a list of disrespectful behavior directed toward the Seahawks WR.
“The NFL quickly collected a fine for the dunk celebration, then used those same images for promotion,” Canaan wrote on X. “The Offensive Player of the Year was turned into a comedy segment with Druski, minimizing an award earned through elite performance and hard work.”
“NFL Honors never acknowledged the poor representation of one of the league's top individual awards,” the professional baseball player continued. “The ‘prestigious’ ceremony didn't even air the pre-recorded acceptance speech. After months to prepare and ship the award, the only offensive player selected received a Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
“At some point, professionalism, respect, and attention to detail should matter.”
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NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy addressed the mistake in a statement to The Athletic.
“The league made the mistake,” McCarthy said. “We sincerely apologize to Jaxon for the error and are in the process of creating and shipping him a new trophy.
“Of course, like the teams he played against this year, we know how great an offensive player he is. We just had a problem spelling it.”
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Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension after helping the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory this past season, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 5:05 PM.