Seattle Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori apparently wants people to appreciate just how much star power is surrounding him.
Emmanwori shared an Instagram Story on August 17 featuring a graphic of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers and cornerbacks by average annual value. Seahawks stars Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon sat at No. 1 on their respective sides of the graphic.
“Ion think yall realize fr,” Emmanwori wrote above it.
The point was difficult to miss. Seattle is coming off a Super Bowl championship and now has the league’s highest-paid player at two premium positions — Smith-Njigba at receiver and Witherspoon at cornerback.
And there is another layer to Emmanwori highlighting the pair: he has quickly put himself on a trajectory to become one of the Seahawks’ next foundational young stars.
HeavySeahawks safety Nick Emmanwori highlighted Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon topping the NFL’s salary rankings at their positions on his Instagram Story.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon Reset Their Markets
Smith-Njigba agreed to a four-year, $168.6 million extension in March after winning AP Offensive Player of the Year and helping Seattle win Super Bowl LX. The agreement carries an average annual value of $42.15 million, the highest for an NFL receiver.
He earned it after leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards in 2025. NFL coaches, scouts and executives subsequently ranked Smith-Njigba third among all receivers in ESPN’s annual position survey.
Witherspoon joined him atop a positional salary list on August 15.
The Seahawks agreed to a four-year, $132 million extension with the three-time Pro Bowl cornerback, according to multiple reports. The $33 million annual average moved Witherspoon ahead of Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward and made him the highest-paid cornerback in league history. The deal reportedly includes more than $101 million guaranteed.
Witherspoon made clear after signing that his priorities had not changed.
“I know this is where my heart is,” Witherspoon said, according to Seahawks.com. “So that was never coming into question.”
Seattle now has both Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon under long-term control through 2031.
That is the context behind Emmanwori’s post. He isn’t simply sharing a graphic with two teammates on it. Two members of Seattle’s young core have established the financial standard for the entire NFL at their positions.
Nick Emmanwori Is Building His Own Case
Emmanwori isn’t in position to negotiate a comparable extension yet, but his rookie season immediately placed him among the league’s most promising defensive backs.
The 2025 second-round pick produced 81 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed, 2.5 sacks and an interception despite missing most of four games with an ankle injury. He finished second in voting for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
By July, ESPN’s survey of NFL executives, coaches and scouts already ranked Emmanwori sixth among safeties.
He also contributed during Seattle’s 29-13 Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots despite dealing with an ankle issue that ultimately required offseason surgery. Emmanwori passed his physical on August 11, clearing another hurdle in his return ahead of the 2026 season.
That makes his Instagram message especially fitting.
Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon represent what Seattle hopes happens when premium draft picks develop into cornerstone players: win with them early, then pay to keep them through their primes.
Emmanwori is only one season into that process. But after the start he had in 2025, he has already given the Seahawks reason to believe another significant contract decision could eventually be coming.
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