The Seahawks’ offseason pivot now centers on jsn as the franchise weighs record-setting paydays against roster turnover. Seattle dominantly won Super Bowl 60 over the New England Patriots, and this offseason they have lost a lot of key players. Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen, and Boye Mafe have all left for new teams. Part of that is the Super Bowl tax, and part of it traces to looming contract decisions for Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon.
What Happens When Jsn and Witherspoon Get Market-Level Deals?
Bill Barnwell predicted the combined going rate for Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon should be something in the ballpark of $76 million per-year. That $76 million number describes expected combined annual compensation, not the total value of the deals. For Smith-Njigba, the projection leans toward top-of-market wide receiver money — roughly the $40 million-per-year range — following an All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year season in which he amassed 1, 793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 119 receptions. Witherspoon, while playing fewer games, earned Pro Bowl recognition in the latest season and second-team All-Pro honors; he is positioned to command a major new cornerback contract, with a comparison point being a four-year, $124 million contract set by Trent McDuffie. If Witherspoon seeks to reset the cornerback market, Seattle would need to exceed roughly $31 million per-year for the cornerback.
How the $76 Million Figure Shapes Roster Moves and Cap Allocation
Combining two contracts at approximately $76 million per-season concentrates a large share of cap resources into one receiver and one cornerback. The team has already seen significant departures this offseason, and the projected paydays explain part of that attrition: committing near $40 million annually to Smith-Njigba and a market-resetting amount to Witherspoon makes it difficult to retain other contributors without restructuring assets or accepting reduced depth. The projection frames the offseason calculus in plain terms — invest heavily in two homegrown first-round picks from 2023, or spread resources more broadly across the roster. Both choices have strategic trade-offs: prioritizing elite talent at premium positions preserves elite-level production but accelerates roster churn; holding cap flexibility preserves depth but risks losing cornerstones who produced All-Pro and Pro Bowl seasons.
Who Wins, Who Loses?
Winners in this scenario are the two players themselves if they secure the projected market-level deals: Smith-Njigba would capture receiver-tier compensation after an exceptional receiving season, and Witherspoon would join the upper echelon of cornerback contracts following consecutive Pro Bowl nods and All-Pro recognition. The Seahawks can also be a winner in a performance sense if the investment keeps both players in place and they continue at elite levels.
Potential losers include depth players and the front office’s short-term roster flexibility. The team has already parted ways with several contributors this offseason, and allocating roughly $76 million per-year to two players intensifies pressure to clear cap space — a dynamic that can accelerate departures. The broader roster construction challenge is explicit: that level of spending on two positions is substantial, and difficult decisions will follow.
There is uncertainty in every projection. The $76 million-per-year figure is a forecast of combined annual pay and does not specify contract lengths, guaranteed money structures, or timing. Negotiations could produce different outcomes, and market shifts at adjacent positions can change valuation benchmarks. What is clear from the current facts is that the Seahawks’ offseason direction will be defined by how they reconcile elite on-field production with the financial realities that follow. Expect the expected market resets to dominate talks, and watch how decisions around jsn
