Jaxon Smith-Njigba Calls Out NFL for Trophy Blunder Amid Historic Season
The Seattle Seahawks dominated the 2025 NFL season, securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC and clinching a victory at Super Bowl LX. A significant contributor to their success was Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN), who recorded an impressive 119 receptions for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him Offensive Player of the Year honors and a groundbreaking four-year, $168.6 million extension, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. Despite his achievements, JSN faced a surprising blunder from the league. Upon receiving his Offensive Player of the Year trophy, he discovered it mistakenly read DEFENSIVE Player of the Year, with a notable typo that combined the words into "2025 Defensive Player of theyear." This error raised eyebrows, as it was unclear whether the misprint originated from the first or second letter. Expressing his frustration, JSN stated in an Instagram video, "I really wanna expose them though. It's getting disrespectful, guys." He humorously added, "Just keep the award at this point. Leave it in the history books tho." This incident was not JSN's first experience with disrespect regarding his award. During the NFL Honors ceremony, comedian Druski mispronounced his last name, causing an unintended reference to a racial slur, for which Druski later apologized. It's worth noting that the NFL is responsible for creating these trophies, a detail confirmed by Pro Football Talk, differentiating it from the Associated Press, which oversees the voting process.
Source: CBS Sports - 2026-05-19