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. The 24-year-old even considered returning the trophy.

“Just keep the award at this point,” Smith-Njigba wrote on his Instagram stories. “Leave it in the history books, tho.”

The spelling error is not the only one. Jaxon’s brother, Canaan Smith-Njigba, listed multiple instances where the league had done the WR dirty. The NFL allegedly used the same photos of Jaxon for promotions, which showed him doing the dunk-celebration that he had been fined for. Also included was the NFL Honors ceremony, which missed showing the pre-recorded acceptance speech from the WR.

“At some point, professionalism, respect, and attention to detail should matter,” Canaan Smith-Njigba wrote on X, after the OPOY award fiasco.

The frustration in JSN and his brother are valid, especially after the star wideout caught 119 passes for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. He led voting for OPOY honors with 272 points, ahead of San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffery and Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua. Smith-Njigba’s 1,793-yard haul last season really deserves a separate chapter in the history books.

However, the WR’s experience with getting to carry this mantle began on the wrong foot.

Awkward history of Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s OPOY award

Canaan Smith-Njigba also mentioned the disrespect to the WR at the NFL Honors, the league’s annual award ceremony at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. NFL legend Barry Sanders and comedian Druski presented the award for 2026 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

As Druski was given the opportunity to announce Njigba as the winner, he declared that it was a difficult name to pronounce. After struggling with “Najigba,” and “Najiba,” he finally landed on “JSN.” Immediately after this comment, Druski faced scrutiny for his actions, as one of his creative solutions sounded similar to a racial slur. The Seahawks’ PR account had to step in after the gross disrespect.

“Hall of Famer Barry Sanders drew the short straw getting stuck with [Druski’s] big whiff tonight,” wrote the Seahawks PR X account. “Put some respect on [Seahawks] WR [Jaxon Smith-Njigba]’s name.”

Druski later said on CBS Mornings that he had reached out to the WR, but never heard back from him. He also claimed that sometimes, comedians “do have to take that chance” of a moment that could turn controversial. The NFL never reprimanded the artist nor expressed its disappointment at the mistake.

This makes it understandable why Jaxon Smith-Njigba was frustrated enough to consider returning the award. The honor was never properly conferred on the WR, even when the league had the chance to do better. At least the Seahawks have shown their respect where it matters most, signing him to the richest wide receiver contract in NFL history.