The NFL has never been shy about dishing out punishment against any action it deems unfit for its stature. As a result, players have to be careful about their conduct during the games, both on and off the field. This season has been no different, as the league has cracked down on any missteps by the players, going so far as to suspend them as well.
This week, it was Jaxon Smith-Njigba who faced the wrath of the league.
After breaking out last season as a true WR1, the talented wide receiver took an almighty step forward this season, breaking through into the conversation for the best wide receiver in the world.
As he continued his excellent run in Week 7, he may have gone a little overboard, leading to the league assessing him with unsportsmanlike conduct. Finally, with Week 8 nearly in sight, they revealed what his exact punishment would be.
What Did Jaxon Smith-Njigba Do?
Taken in the first round with the 20th overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2023, Njigba had a slow start to his career. Starting just three games in his rookie season, he totaled 628 yards and four touchdowns, numbers he has already eclipsed this year.
However, as he took on a major role and was promoted to the starting lineup in his sophomore season, his numbers immediately took a jump. He finished the year with 1,130 yards and six touchdowns, ranking 11th on PFSN’s WR Impact.
This season, as the Seahawks went through a plethora of changes on the roster, he was officially elevated to the WR1 role, with Sam Darnold as his new quarterback. The pairing has worked like a charm for him, as he has arguably been the best wide receiver in the league.
With 819 yards and four touchdowns through seven games, he is flirting with the all-time receiving yards record while recording 100 or more yards in all but two games. As a result, he currently stands second on PFSN’s WR Impact.
In a primetime Monday Night Football game against the Houston Texans, JSN had another excellent outing, tallying 123 yards and a touchdown, ranking as the third-best performance by a wide receiver on the week.
However, when he scored his touchdown, Smith-Njigba started celebrating and went a step too far by dunking the ball through the crossbar beyond the end zone. He was immediately flagged for it.
With that particular celebration banned by the NFL, a penalty was inevitable. Finally, Tom Pelissero took to X to make the announcement official, as he wrote, “The NFL fined #Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba $14,491 for unsportsmanlike conduct (use of prop) — dunking the ball over the crossbar following his TD on Monday night against Tampa Bay.”
The use of Tampa Bay seems to have been a mistake by Pelissero, as the Seahawks faced off against the Texans, while the Buccaneers battled the Detroit Lions in the earlier game on Monday Night.
With a $14.4 million rookie contract spread over four years, the amount comes out to be about 1% of his total contract value. However, on a per-year basis, the amount is nearly 4% of what he is slated to earn this year.
