Why does Jaxson Smith-Ngijba have a Sierra Leone flag on his helmet?

If you’ve been watching the Seattle Seahawks, you might have noticed a unique green, white, and blue decal on the back of star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s helmet.

While it shares a similar color palette with the Seahawks’ “Action Green” and “College Navy,” it isn’t a team logo—it’s the national flag of Sierra Leone.

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Here is the story behind why JSN chooses to represent the West African nation on the field and the deep family history tied to his name.

Smith-Njigba wears the Sierra Leone flag as part of the NFL Heritage Program. This league-wide initiative allows players to display the flag of a country or territory where they or their relatives were born, celebrating the international diversity of the NFL.

For Smith-Njigba, the flag is a tribute to his paternal grandparents, who immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone. While the star wide receiver was born and raised in Rockwall, Texas, he remains deeply connected to his West African roots.

The story of the flag is also the story of Jaxon’s last name.

When his grandfather, John, first arrived in the U.S. in the 1970s, he initially went by “John Smith” to help his family assimilate. The name “Njigba” was kept on legal documents but was rarely used publicly by the family for years.

In fact, throughout much of his childhood and early high school career, the Seahawks receiver was known simply as Jaxon Smith.

However, after his grandfather passed away in 2014, Jaxon made the decision to reclaim the “Njigba” name to honor his grandfather’s legacy and his family’s Sierra Leonean heritage.

His family comes from a rich, multicultural background that spans continents — his paternal grandparents hail from Sierra Leone in West Africa, his father Maada (Kelechi) Njigba has Nigerian roots, and his mother, Lakita Smith, is American.

By wearing the Sierra Leone flag, Smith-Njigba joins fellow Seahawks like Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe in highlighting the growing influence of African athletes in the NFL.

For JSN, the flag is more than just a sticker. It represents the journey of his family from Freetown to the Pacific Northwest.

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“It’s our blood,” Smith-Njigba told FOX Sports back in 2022.

“My dad made sure we knew where we came from and our background and how our grandfather had to work for everything and change his name to get jobs. We know things aren’t going to be given to us. We know we have to work for it.”

Following a regular season where he shattered franchise records and led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards, JSN was recently named a unanimous First-Team All-Pro.

It’s a feat that puts him in the same rarefied air as Seahawks legend Steve Largent, proving that the Njigba name is now synonymous with greatness in the Pacific Northwest.

But the story doesn’t end with individual accolades.

After a dominant performance in the NFC Championship, Smith-Njigba and the Seahawks are headed to Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX.

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As he prepares to take the sport’s biggest stage against the New England Patriots, JSN will once again have that green, white, and blue flag on his helmet—a reminder that while he’s playing for a world championship, he’s also carrying the pride of a family journey that started thousands of miles away.

He isn’t just playing for the name on the back of his jersey. He’s playing for the history and the flag on the back of his helmet.

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