April 1, 2026, 12:59 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
Seattle Seahawks<\/a> coach Mike Macdonald loved watching Jaxon Smith-Njigba play his way toward becoming the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history in 2026 last season.<\/p>\n On Tuesday\u2019s episode of the \u201cUp & Adams Show\u201d<\/a> at the NFL\u2019s annual league meeting, coach Macdonald marveled about the offseason plan that Smith-Njigba brought to life on the field in 2025 that enabled him to earn his record extension this spring.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I think, I obviously believed in him,\u201d Macdonald said. \u201cBut, the thought and the vision that he had for himself on the player that he wanted to be, he backed it up with what he did throughout the whole season, and really the whole offseason. And so, it was so much fun to see him kind of, stack the role of what we could create for him throughout the whole offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension this spring that made him paid more than any wide receiver before him. The 24-year-old took his foundation as a 1,000-yard receiver from 2024 to the next level in 2025, finishing as the NFL\u2019s receiving yards leader with 1,793 yards. Smith-Njigba won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks<\/a> in 2026.<\/p>\n The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year became a premier deep-ball threat in the league. Smith-Njigba\u2019s prolific season started with a goal. It ended with a heap of success.<\/p>\n