The wide receiver market just reset again, this time thanks to the Seattle Seahawks and third-year pass catcher Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks just gave the First-Team All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year a four-year, $168.6 million contract ($120 million guaranteed), making him the highest paid at the position in NFL history. His $42.15 million APY now clears former leading money-getter Ja’Marr Chase’s recent Cincinnati Bengals deal by $1.9 million.
It’s well deserved, as Smith-Njigba’s torrid 2025 season helped catapult the Seahawks to only their second Super Bowl championship in franchise history. In it, he wrecked shop with 119 receptions, 1,793 yards (15.1 average) and 10 touchdowns. Additionally, his First-Team All-Pro selection is the first a Seattle receiver since Hall of Famer Steve Largent did so way back in 1985.
It’s a great day to be a wide receiver in the modern NFL, as the going rate for the role is astronomical compared to where it was decades ago. For reference, in the 2025 season, there were at least 23 different receivers earning $20 million or more, including nine making $30 million or more.
This now brings me back to a deal the Houston Texans made with their own home-grown talent in Nico Collins, who now sits today as arguably the best value deal for a receiver in the entire NFL, if not in general.
Texans have an excellent bargain in big-play receiver Nico Collins
Back in 2024, the Texans and Collins agreed on a three-year, $72.75 million max contract ($52 million guaranteed, $75 million max value), making him one of the 10 highest-paid receivers in the league at the time. He had just come off a 2023 season in which he caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards (16.2 average) and eight touchdowns (first year with quarterback C.J. Stroud). He finished eighth in yards and tied for eighth in touchdowns that year.
His $24.25 million APY was seen as “very team friendly”, as it allowed the team to maintain a high-quality receiving threat while also being able to invest in other parts of the team. Fast forward to 2026 and he’s now ranked 18th overall amongst his peers. The most recent list, per Spotrac, goes as follows:
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba: $42.15 million APY
- Ja’Marr Chase: $40.25 million APY
- Justin Jefferson: $35 million APY
- CeeDee Lamb: $34 million APY
- $D.K. Metcalf: $33 million APY
- Garrett Wilson: $32.5 million APY
- Terry McLaurin: $32.33 million APY
- A.J. Brown: $32 million APY
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: $32.002 million APY
- Brandon Aiyuk: $30 million APY
- Tee Higgins: $28.75 million APY
- Alec Pierce: $28.5 million APY
- Jaylen Waddle: $28.25 million APY
- D.J. Moore: $27.5 million APY
- George Pickens: $27.29 million APY
- Jameson Williams: $26.66 million APY
- DeVonta Smith: $25 million APY
- Nico Collins: $24.25 million APY
Houston’s benefit is further evidenced by the fact that, since 2023, Collins ranks ninth-best in total receiving yards at 3,420, seventh-best in yards per game with 81.4, second-best in yards per catch at 15.6 and tied for fifth-best in receiving touchdowns with 21. Amazingly, he accomplished all this while being tied for 19th-most receptions with 219 and being tied for 21st in games played with 42 (per Statmuse).
Looking at the numbers, and the fact that Collins will be a free agent after the 2027 season, the Texans have a lot of runway to work with when considering the next contract for Collins.
Texans have variables to consider ahead of Collins' next deal
The difference between Collins’ pay and Smith-Njigba’s as of today is a staggering $17.9 million. In percentage terms, Smith-Njigba is being paid 73% more than Collins. This is in spite of the fact that Njigba has only 131 more yards worth of yardage production than Collins within the last three seasons, while Collins has one more receiving touchdown and averages three more yards per catch in the same span.
This leaves the Texans with an interesting proposition heading into the final two seasons of Collins’ current pact with the team. Does Collins push for top-five money and look for a deal in the range of $37-$38 million? Or, does Collins’ camp push to eclipse that mark and land at the top spot with an even bigger mega deal? On the other side, do the Texans have an appetite to compensate Collins at a rate that could skyrocket to almost low-end quarterback money?
(Note: The “worst case scenario” to this question was already addressed in a previous Toro Times piece)
The beauty of the situation is that Collins has already stated that he wants to be a Texan long-term. Quoted by Texans Expert Sonny Giuliano, Collins expressed to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson back in February,
"Just keep this thing rolling, for sure, 1,000 percent. I love the city of Houston, man. I want to be here long-term, forever. My mom said every day, continue to be myself, continue to prove myself and get better."
Any financial conversations will seemingly be anchored in the fact that Collins truly enjoys being in the city. Along with that, Stroud and Collins have formed one of the most lethal quarterback-receiver combinations in the NFL to date. That bridge is a long way away from having to be crossed, but the Collins conversation will only get louder the more his contemporaries are cashing in on the apparent rawhide receiver gold rush that’s happening. Who knows, maybe Collins gets a raise this year?