{"id":841999,"date":"2026-03-30T00:52:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841999\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T00:52:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T00:52:28","slug":"seattle-seahawks-star-jaxon-smith-njigba-is-now-the-highest-paid-wide-receiver-but-who-can-unseat-him-for-that-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/841999\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba is now the highest-paid wide receiver, but who can unseat him for that title?"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE Seattle Seahawks just made Jaxon Smith-Njigba the NFL\u2019s highest-paid wide receiver, but he might not hold that title for much longer.<\/p>\n

The reigning Super Bowl<\/a> champs signed Smith-Njigba to a four-year, $168.6m contract.<\/p>\n

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Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba celebrates after a win over the Houston Texans on October 20, 2025Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

Smith-Njigba spotted after his Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX last monthCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The extension was expected after Seattle picked up Smith-Njigba\u2019s fifth-year option last week.<\/p>\n

JSN proved that he could be one of the league\u2019s elite receivers in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Seahawks opted to make Smith-Njigba the No. 1 option after moving on from DK Metcalf.<\/p>\n

That decision helped Smith-Njigba put together one of the best seasons of all time.<\/p>\n

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The Oklahoma native recorded 119 receptions for 1,793 yards, which was a franchise record, and 10 touchdowns, which led to him receiving unanimous first-team All-Pro honors and winning Offensive Player of the Year. <\/p>\n

JSN then helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl 60, totaling 17 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns during the postseason run.<\/p>\n

His salary eclipses the previous high for a wide receiver: Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/a>\u2018s contract with the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>, which has an average annual value of $40.2 million.<\/p>\n

Smith-Njigba\u2019s deal averages $42.1 million per year and has over $120 million in guaranteed money.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely, however, that JSN won\u2019t hold the league\u2019s highest-paid wide receiver for long.<\/p>\n

Who can jump Smith-Njigba as the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL?<\/p>\n

Puka Nacua<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua celebrates after defeating the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Wild Card game on January 10Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Rams could work on handing a bigger extension to Puka Nacua<\/a>, who also put together a stellar season in 2025.<\/p>\n

Nacua led the league in receptions and receiving yards per game.<\/p>\n

And he totaled 332 receiving yards and two touchdowns in three postseason games.<\/p>\n

However, NFL Network\u2019s Mike Garafolo reported this week that he expects to be \u201ca while\u201d before Nacua signs an extension, calling it a \u201cdifferent situation\u201d than Smith-Njigba\u2019s due to the fact that the Rams have to pay several other players.<\/p>\n

George Pickens<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys star George Pickens walks off the field after a win over the Philadelphia Eagles on November 23, 2025Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys<\/a> could also give George Pickens<\/a> a record contract.<\/p>\n

After three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>, Pickens finally showed what he\u2019s capable of, hauling in 93 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns in his first campaign in Dallas.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys have placed the franchise tag on the 25-year-old this offseason, which is set to pay him $27.2 million fully guaranteed if he plays on it this season.<\/p>\n

Pickens could look for a long-term deal, but it\u2019s a matter of whether Dallas, which is known for waiting for the last moment to re-sign their own talent, agrees to it.<\/p>\n

Honorable mention: Drake London<\/p>\n

Atlanta Falcons star Drake London seen following a touchdown during a 2024 gameCredit: AP<\/p>\n

Atlanta Falcons<\/a> star Drake London is someone to monitor in this conversation thanks to his production so far in the league.<\/p>\n

In 2024, the No. 8 overall pick recorded career-highs in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,271), and touchdowns (9).<\/p>\n

However, London played just 12 games due to injury in 2025.<\/p>\n

The Falcons picked up the 24-year-old\u2019s fifth-year option for next season.<\/p>\n

Still, London and his reps could look for a payday that can come close to what Smith-Njigba received this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Seattle Seahawks just made Jaxon Smith-Njigba the NFL\u2019s highest-paid wide receiver, but he might not hold that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2056],"tags":[7,221,253,2368,6,261,222],"class_list":{"0":"post-841999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-texans","11":"tag-houstontexans","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-seattle-seahawks","14":"tag-texans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116315398435898770","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}