Jaxon Smith-Njigba points out glaring mistake on offensive player of the year award: 'It's getting disrespectful'
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is an offensive player, actually.
Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba established himself as the best receiver in football in 2025. Smith-Njigba led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, scoring 10 touchdowns en route to an All-Pro season. While that wasn’t enough to win him the MVP award, Smith-Njigba took home the next best thing: The offensive player of the year award … or so he thought.
Turns out, someone made a pretty glaring mistake on Smith-Njigba’s physical award. Upon first blush, you might think it had something to do with the receiver’s name, which isn’t the easiest to spell, but you would be wrong. It was more embarrassing than that.
Smith-Njigba received the “2025 defensive player of the year” award … according to his trophy. #Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba received his Offensive Player of the Year trophy … but the plaque says Defensive Player of the Year. 🤦♂️ “It’s getting disrespectful at this point.
” pic. twitter. com/mzDlTvACDk — Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 19, 2026 He was the one who called attention to the issue, sending out a short story on his Instagram page pointing out the error.