To say that former Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a breakout year in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks would be a major understatement. Smith-Njigba was the leading yardage receiver in the League and helped lead his team to a Super Bowl win. He is now one of the most feared skill-position players in the NFL, and that led him to winning the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year Award.
There’s just one problem. Smith-Njigba took to Instagram on Tuesday to criticize the folks who are in charge of giving him the award because they not only made “the year” one word (theyear), but the award also said “Defensive Player of the Year” vs. what it should have read, “Offensive Player of the Year.”
That’s kind of embarrassing for the NFL. Your local Pee Wee football league has no problem getting spelling and awards right; you would think one of the most popular and profitable major sports leagues in the world would have a simple method of assuring all of this went off without a hitch.
“I really want to expose them,” Smith-Njigba said in the video. “It’s getting disrespectful, guys.”
The former Ohio State star has the last laugh all the way to the bank, however. He recently signed the most lucrative contract any wide receiver in the history of the game has inked. Smith-Njigba signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension with the Seattle Seahawks. That’s an average of $42.15 million per year, and includes $120 million guaranteed, both records for the position for a wide receiver.
Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Former Ohio State star Smith-Njigba receives ‘disrespectful’ NFL award
Reporting by Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire / Buckeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
