From Buckeyes teammates to NFL stars worth nearly $300 million combined.

Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba took college football by storm across their two years together at Ohio State. Back in 2021, a junior Wilson and a sophomore Smith-Njigba combined for 165 receptions, 2,664 receiving yards, and 21 receiving touchdowns, leading the way for a Buckeyes offense that led the nation with 45.8 points per game.

Expectations were high for both prospects after that type of season. Five years later, they have met those expectations and then some.

Despite poor quarterbacking throughout his entire NFL career, Wilson has racked up 315 receptions for 3,644 yards and 18 touchdowns over his 58 games for the New York Jets. The 315 receptions rank as the 13th-most by a wide receiver over his first 58 career games in the Super Bowl era (1966-present).

Wilson’s Buckeye brother, though, has been fortunate enough to receive far better quarterbacking at the pro level, and the results have been tenfold.

Smith-Njigba is coming off a 2025 season in which he was named Offensive Player of the Year and helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl. For his efforts, Smith-Njigba was rewarded on Monday with a four-year, $168.6 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.

This comes less than a year after Wilson re-upped with the New York Jets on a four-year, $130 million deal.

So, where does this leave Wilson among the game’s highest-paid wideouts?

Garrett Wilson’s contract update

Per Spotrac, here are the latest salary rankings among NFL wide receivers:

  1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA ($42.2M)
  2. Ja’Marr Chase, CIN ($40.3M)
  3. CeeDee Lamb, DAL ($34.0M)
  4. DK Metcalf, PIT ($33.0M)
  5. Garrett Wilson, NYJ ($32.5M)
  6. Terry McLaurin, WAS ($32.3M)
  7. A.J. Brown, PHI ($32.0M)
  8. Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET ($30.0M)
  9. Brandon Aiyuk, SF ($30.0M)
  10. Tee Higgins, CIN ($28.8M)

Wilson’s $32.5 million salary has dropped from fourth-highest at the position to fifth-highest.

In terms of total value, Wilson’s $130 million deal is also now fifth-highest at the position.

For Wilson, seeing his former younger teammate earn a record-setting payday has to be a proud moment. Still, it may also be mildly frustrating.

Smith-Njigba has enjoyed a level of quarterbacking in his NFL career that Wilson’s passers have come nowhere close to. Who is to say that if the receivers swapped places, their numbers wouldn’t swap—and, therefore, their salaries?

Nonetheless, Wilson should be able to get by just fine with his $130 million contract, which includes $90 million guaranteed.

Wilson’s next challenge is to record his fourth career 1,000-yard season with a quarterback room that currently comprises Geno Smith, Brady Cook, and Bailey Zappe. A rookie quarterback may be added in the draft, but not one with the potential to immediately alter the Jets’ fortunes.

Will the world ever get to see what Wilson is capable of with competent quarterbacking?

The Jets’ hope is that Geno Smith, who threw passes to Smith-Njigba over the Ohio State product’s first two NFL seasons, can provide that competency.

Across Smith-Njigba’s first two NFL seasons, Smith started 32 of the Seahawks’ 34 games, completing 67.4% of his passes for 50 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 7.4 yards per pass attempt, and a 96.8 passer rating. Those are the type of numbers that Wilson would dream of having at the quarterback position.

Smith’s numbers took a nosedive in 2025, as he struggled to overcome the Las Vegas Raiders’ horrid situation. New York hopes that he can bounce-back in the scheme of offensive coordinator Frank Reich, which projects as an ideal fit for Smith’s strengths and weaknesses.

Wilson sure hopes so. A fifth straight season of porous quarterbacking could drive the passionate wideout, who has already had multiple sideline outbursts in his career, to further hysterics.

Nonetheless, Wilson remains committed to turning things around for the organization that drafted him. Earlier this year, he valiantly defended the Jets against media critics who claimed that NFL draft prospects should dodge them.

The Jets are lucky to have an offensive weapon as talented, passionate, and committed as Wilson. Will 2026 finally be the year when they give him the necessary infrastructure to put up similar numbers to his former college teammate?