Seahawks land pair of nominations for 2026 ESPYS

The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks received a pair of nominations for ESPN’s annual ESPYS award show next month.

The Seahawks were one of nine nominees for the “Best Team” award and reigning NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba was one of four nominees for the “Best NFL Player” award.

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The Seahawks are coming off a franchise-best 17-3 campaign and a dominant run to their franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy. They compiled a plus-246 point differential across both the regular season and postseason, which is the highest mark by a Super Bowl champion since the 1999 St. Louis Rams. And they did so while winning 14 of their final 15 games, capped by a smothering performance by their top-ranked scoring defense in a 29-13 Super Bowl triumph over the New England Patriots.

Smith-Njigba led the NFL with a franchise-record 1,793 receiving yards this past season, which was the eighth-most in a single season in league history. He became just the third NFL player to eclipse 1,700 receiving yards in a season at age 23 or younger, and he also tallied a franchise-record 119 receptions and 10 touchdown catches.

The other “Best Team” nominees are the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the NBA champion New York Knicks, the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, the NCAA football national champion Indiana Hoosiers, the NCAA softball national champion Texas Longhorns, and the Team USA men’s and women’s gold medal Olympic hockey teams.

The other “Best NFL Player” nominees are Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and NFL sack king Myles Garrett. Stafford was the NFL MVP this past season and Maye was the runner-up in MVP voting. Garrett, who was traded to the Rams earlier this month, broke the NFL single-season record with 23.0 sacks last year with the Cleveland Browns.

The 2026 ESPYS award show is July 15 at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Fans can cast their votes at ESPYS.com from now until July 15.

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