Newly crowned Super Bowl champion Jaxon Smith-Njigba revealed the title he wants next: the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver.
“I believe I deserve to be the highest paid in my position,” the Seattle Seahawks wideout told WFAA’s Jonah Jovad. “What I give to the game and the community, I give it my all. I think that’s worth a lot more. I would play this game for free – I love this game so much – but you don’t have to. And I’m learning to be a good businessman, and we need that check at the end of the day.”
The 24-year-old is coming off the best season of his career. He totaled 10 touchdowns and a league-leading 1,793 receiving yards on 119 receptions en route to earning the Offensive Player of the Year award and his first All-Pro selection.
Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase reset the wide receiver market last March by signing a four-year, $161 million contract extension. The record deal put him ahead of the next highest-paid wideout – Justin Jefferson – by over $5 million in average annual salary.
Despite being eligible to sign an extension when the new league year begins in March, Smith-Njigba says he isn’t in a rush to get a new contract done after helping the Seahawks secure a Lombardi Trophy.
“I’m really not too pressed right now to get it done,” he added. “I know my time is coming, and when we get it done, it’s gonna be a great deal.”
Seattle has $63.4 million in cap space, the sixth most in the league, according to Spotrac. Seahawks players scheduled to hit the open market include Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, fellow wideout Rashid Shaheed, and linebacker Boye Mafe.