NFL apologises for trophy engraving error after Smith-Njigba highlights gaffe

The National Football League has apologised for a significant engraving error on an award presented to Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The league confirmed it is producing and shipping a corrected trophy after the player publicly highlighted the mistake on social media.

Smith-Njigba, the reigning Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year, posted a video to his Instagram account late Monday showing the award. The plaque was incorrectly engraved as "2025 Defensive Player Of The Year" rather than "Offensive." The wide receiver described the error as "disrespectful" and stated he wanted to "expose" the issue.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the mistake to The Athletic, stating, "The league made the mistake." McCarthy apologised for the error and confirmed that a new trophy is being created and shipped to the player. He added, "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."

In addition to the primary mislabeling, Smith-Njigba pointed out a secondary typo on the plaque where the words "The" and "Year" appeared merged as "TheYear." The player questioned the formatting in his video, noting, "One word? Man." He later posted a second Instagram story with a photo captioned, "Just keep the award at this point. Leave it in the history books tho."

The incident follows a previous error at the February NFL Honors event, where comedian Druski mispronounced Smith-Njigba’s name multiple times while announcing the award. The wide receiver recently signed a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history. He set career highs in receptions and receiving yards during the 2025 season, helping lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.