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How much could a JSN contract extension cost Seahawks?

As the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks embark on the offseason, one major item of business in the offing could be a massive long-term deal for star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

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Smith-Njigba is coming off a spectacular campaign, earning AP Offensive Player of the Year honors after piling up a franchise-record 1,793 receiving yards, which were the eighth-most in a single season in league history. And as a 2023 first-round draft pick who will be entering the final year of his rookie contract, Smith-Njigba is now eligible for an extension.

How much could that deal cost the Seahawks? CBS Sports writer and former NFL agent Joel Corry was posed that question Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“You’d have to hope that he’s looking just at the receiver market,” Corry said. “But if I represented him, I would be looking at being the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, which is (Green Bay Packers edge rusher) Micah Parsons at $46.5 million per year. I’d be looking to go above that.”

A closer look

Listed below are the 10 highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the NFL by average annual value, according to Over the Cap. (Wide receivers are in bold.)

1. Packers EDGE Micah Parsons – $46.5 million

2. Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson – $45 million

3. Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt – $41 million

4. Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase – $40.25 million

5. Browns EDGE Myles Garrett – $40 million

6. Texans EDGE Danielle Hunter – $35.6 million

7. Raiders EDGE Maxx Crosby – $35.5 million

8. Vikings WR Justin Jefferson – $35 million

T-9. 49ers EDGE Nick Bosa – $34 million

T-9. Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb – $34 million

Seven of the 10 players on this list are edge rushers, but as Corry pointed out, two wide receivers on this list each spent time as the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB.

Jefferson, who was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 after finishing with a league-high 1,809 receiving yards, signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension in June 2024. At the time, that made him the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, with an annual average of $35 million.

Similarly, Chase totaled a league-high 1,708 receiving yards in 2024 and then inked a four-year, $161 million deal in March 2025. And at the time, that made him the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB at $40.25 million per year.

“Typically, the guys who are the highest-paid non-quarterbacks put the quarterback on the ground,” Corry said. “… But there is a precedent for a receiver being the highest-paid non-quarterback.”

The good news for Seattle is that it has the sixth-most salary cap space in the NFL at roughly $63.6 million, according to Over the Cap.

‘The wild card’

Corry added that Smith-Njigba’s deal could depend in part on the value of Rams star wideout Puka Nacua’s expected long-term extension.

Nacua was the NFL’s second-leading receiver this past season. He finished just behind Smith-Njigba at 1,715 receiving yards, which were the 14th-most in a single season in NFL history.

And like Smith-Njigba, Nacua is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

One key difference, however, is that Smith-Njigba was a first-round pick and Nacua was a fifth-rounder. That gives the Seahawks the potential to exercise a fifth-year option on Smith-Njigba’s rookie contract – a mechanism only available for first-round picks.

“Puka’s the wild card in the equation,” Corry said. “The Rams have more urgency, because he’s in a contract year – fifth-round pick, hasn’t made (as much) money, in terms of NFL standards. Sometimes you can get a guy like that to take a little less than you would if he was in a better financial standing.

“But whatever Puka signs for – if he goes first – will be the floor. And vice versa.”

Listen to the full Bump and Stacy conversation with Joel Corry at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.