March 26, 2026, 12:31 p.m. PT

As the Seattle Seahawks held a press conference today to announce Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s new contract extension, he made it clear he’s hungry for even higher levels of success in 2026.

“For me, there’s always more work to be done and there’s always another level to reach.”

The full 19-minute video, which aired on X and Seahawks.com, can be replayed here.

Both head coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider spoke to the media for the first time publicly since the NFL Combine as well. They spoke on the contract first and then answered questions along with Smith-Njigba.

They all expressed gratitude for the ease with which this mega-contract was negotiated, especially relative to others of its magnitude. When asked what it means to him, Smith-Njigba thanked God and his family before looking forward to the 2026 team with heavy optimism, dropping a seemingly obvious quote that shows their confidence:

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“The only thing better than one Super Bowl is two.”

Macdonald told an interesting story of Smith-Njigba’s breakout from his perspective on the practice fields last season. When asked if he knew “he was in for a really big year here”, answered:

“Yes. It was pretty early. There’s never just one play because of the constant growth that’s required, but I thought our defense was playing at a high level throughout camp and throughout the off-season program, and we had a really hard time covering him. And to Jax’s credit, his ability to not just stand in one place, and only be able to do one thing, to be able to move him around, understand how to run the whole route tree, the chemistry that’s required with Sam [Darnold]- that’s a lot of work that takes, and you could see it coming to life every day, and that was really exciting.”

Most people think of Smith-Njigba’s rare ability as talent, but this framework better represents how he, his coach, and his general manager see his uniqueness. The sentiment of the “work” echoed throughout the entire interview, and that’s an excellent sign for someone who just got paid the way he did and the organization that’s writing the checks.

He also gave the rare mention to “the third floor” of an NFL organization, saying it feels great to feel confidence coming from them along with his teammates and coaches. That refers to the executive offices which house the operations and scouting departments.