The Seahawks are making moves, and the rest of the league is already feeling it. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, our very own 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, just completely topped the wide receiver pay scale in March with a massive four-year, $168 million contract extension. And just last week, Seattle went and established a new standard for cornerbacks too, with Devon Witherspoon’s four-year extension averaging $33 million per year. Our guys are getting paid, and they are setting the market for everyone else.
The Emerald City Leads the League in Smashing Records
This isn’t just about big checks for our favorite players, it’s about a massive shift happening across the NFL, and the Seahawks are right at the forefront. For the third straight year, we’ve seen a record number of first-round picks locking down extensions after only three seasons. We’re talking double digits for the first time ever, with 10 first-rounders getting new deals so far in 2026. This trend is undeniable: teams are showing serious urgency to extend their top guys early. Seven of those 10 players became the highest-paid at their positions, which is just wild. Our very own Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon are both in that elite group, showing exactly how much the organization believes in them and what they bring to Lumen Field.
Why Everyone Is Rushing to Get Deals Done
So, what’s driving this mad dash? It’s all about the money, baby. Fifth-year options are now fully guaranteed, and positional markets are skyrocketing faster than you can say “touchdown.” Teams can’t renegotiate a draft-pick contract until after a player’s third regular season, but that fifth-year option has to be exercised by May 1 after that third year. The threat of those fully guaranteed options, combined with the market exploding around them, has front offices saying, “Let’s pay our stars now!”
We’ve seen other massive deals go down this year. The Houston Texans made Will Anderson Jr. the NFL’s first and only $50 million per year non-quarterback in April. Jalen Carter took interior defensive lineman compensation to new heights with a four-year, $152 million extension from the Philadelphia Eagles. Peter Skoronski set a new benchmark for offensive guards at $25 million per year with his four-year, $100 million deal with the Tennessee Titans. Even running backs are seeing a bump, with Bijan Robinson’s three-year, $66.75 million extension getting eclipsed just days later by Jahmyr Gibbs’ three-year, $67.5 million deal. It’s an absolute frenzy out there!
A Whole New NFL: Investing in the Future
This urgency is a total game-changer from what we’ve seen historically. Go back to the first 10 draft classes after the 2011 rookie wage scale was implemented, and you’d only see an average of 2.8 first-round picks getting extensions without playing a fourth year. For the final two years of those classes, there were only three such extensions collectively, and all of them were quarterbacks. Kyler Murray, the 2019 first overall pick, only got his early extension in 2022. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, the 2020 first and sixth overall picks, didn’t get their five-year extensions until 2023. This current trend, with 10 deals this year and the previous highs of eight in 2025 and seven in 2024, is a complete flip.
For us here in Seattle, this means our team is investing big in their future and our star players. With Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon locked up for the long haul, we know who’s leading the charge on offense and defense for years to come. That kind of commitment, that kind of belief in our guys, that’s what we love to see in the Emerald City. Let’s get ready for what’s next!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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