SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 25: Jaxon Smith-Njigba 11 of the Seattle Seahawks runs with the ball after a reception during the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on January 25, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 25 NFC Championship Game Rams at Seahawks EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon573260125106
SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 25: Jaxon Smith-Njigba 11 of the Seattle Seahawks runs with the ball after a reception during the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams on January 25, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 25 NFC Championship Game Rams at Seahawks EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon573260125106
May 24, 2026, 5:00 AM CUT
"Joke of a Response": NFL Brutally Trolled Over Major Jaxon Smith-Njigba Mistake
Seattle Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba thought he was finally holding his hard-earned Offensive Player of the Year award. Instead, he opened a box that left both him and NFL fans questioning the league’s attention to detail.
NFL insider Ari Meirov posted on X, sharing that the wide receiver has received the Defensive Player of the Year plaque. The NFL acknowledged its mistake and responded.
“The NFL has acknowledged it made a mistake with Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Offensive Player of the Year trophy and is in the process of creating and shipping him a new one. “Like the teams he played against this year, we know how great an offensive player he is. We just had a problem spelling it,” the league said,” Meirov wrote on May 19.
Smith-Njigba is at the top of the NFL’s 2025 best-performing WRs chart. The 24-year-old made 119 receptions for 1,793 receiving yards.
He was targeted 163 times across 17 games and scored 10 receiving touchdowns. The former Ohio State player also recorded seven carries for 36 rushing yards.
For his elite performance throughout the year and winning the Super Bowl title against the New England Patriots, Smith-Njigba received his First Team All-Pro Bowl invitation.
Smith-Njigba beat Christian McCaffrey, Puka Nacua, Bijan Robinson, and Drake Maye for the award. With that, he is the second Seahawks player to win the honor.
The award holds deep significance for both him and the franchise, so his disappointment is no surprise. In his Instagram stories, pointing out the blunder, Smith-Njigba wrote that “It’s getting disrespectful at this point.”
Post which, NFL fans have a barrage of comments calling out the NFL for its mistake.
NFL Fans Deeply Unimpressed With The NFL’s Response Over Their Blunder
After NFL insider Ari Meirov posted the NFL’s response to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, fans were unsatisfied with the reply.
“That’s a joke of a response to that, how the f*** do you mess up a trophy that badly, fire that dude asap dawg,” one fan demanded.
“That's the work of a billion dollar organization btw,” one comment pointed out.
Two comments were not impressed with the compliments the NFL paid to Smith-Njigba after this error.
“Hahah,,,, they really said “elite talent, minor spelling issue. they have to do better,” one read.
“they always try to throw in some compliment whenever they mess something up lmao,” another commented, pointing at the NFL’s reply.
The NFL had not changed the wide receiver’s position, but also made other mistakes, which fans did not miss. One fan, deeply unhappy with such mistakes, asked who was behind them.
“And no space between THE and YEAR! W*** who was doing the engraving, f** trump?”
The NFL has to act quickly and correctly this time to fix this issue and calm down fans. What are your thoughts on this blunder? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Read more at the Cleveland Browns Community!
Written by
Akanksha Biradar