NFL Offers Sincere Apology & New Honors Trophy to Jaxon Smith-Njigba After Disrespectful Mistake
SAN JOSE, CA - FEBRUARY 04: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba 11 of the Seattle Seahawks answers questions during the Wednesday press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz on February 4, 2026 at the San Jose Marriott in San Jose, CA. Photo by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA FEB 04 Super Bowl LX Seattle Seahawks EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon260204042 ©IMAGO/Icon Sportswire The NFL hasn’t been able to reward Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the right way. He is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, ranking eighth in the league’s all-time records of most receiving yards in a single season.
But the WR was instead disappointed when he received the award meant to honor his efforts. The NFL had to come up with an apology for an embarrassing mistake. In a video shared by Smith-Njigba, the trophy appeared to read “2025 Defensive Player of the Year.
” Plus, “Offensive” was somehow spelled as “Oefensive. ” In a statement, the league confirmed that it was an O and not a D, and the font created confusion. But they did miss an extra ‘f.
’ “The league made the mistake,” chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, per The Athletic’s Jayna Bardahl. “We sincerely apologize to Jaxon for the error and are in the process of creating and shipping him a new trophy. Of course, like the teams he played against this year, we know how great an offensive player he is.
We just had a problem spelling it. ” What made this mistake even more embarrassing than it actually was that Smith-Njjigba said it was simply “disrespectful at this point. ” The WR was awarded the honor in February this year, giving the league more than enough time to check for these things.
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