The Los Angeles Rams will soon have to hold talks with Pro Bowl wide receiver Puka Nacua, and the former fifth-round pick is expected to cash in.
Nacua got off to a record-setting start as a rookie. Injuries hindered him in 2024, limiting him to 11 games during the regular season. Despite that, Nacua’s stock remains high, and the Rams will have to pay him accordingly.
The expectation is that that will indeed happen sooner or later.
“Nacua is another player who is eligible for an extension this offseason and has a very good chance of becoming the league’s highest-paid wide receiver. That could very well mean he’s also the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL,” CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan wrote on May 23.
“There’s little doubt that the Rams won’t give him a monumental contract extension at some point in the near future.”
Sullivan said Nacua was “nothing short of dominant,” through two seasons. Nacua followed up his record-setting rookie season with another productive campaign, with 79 receptions, 990 yards, and 3 touchdowns.
Nacua has been a bargain for the Rams, producing as he has on a four-year, $4.1 million rookie scale contract.
That will change with his next deal, though.
Projecting Puka Nacua’s Contract Extension With Rams
GettyPuka Nacua #17 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during a win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Nacua has caught 184 passes for 2,476 yards, and 9 TDs through two seasons. He ranks seventh all-time and fourth among active players in receptions and yards over the first two NFL campaigns of their respective careers, per Stathead.
The list of active players includes Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. They rank first and second, respectively, among WRs in contract value.
The order flips in terms of guaranteed money.
Odell Beckham Jr. is the only other player ranked ahead of Nacua in that span. Nacua is outpacing every other receiver to start his career. That could make CeeDee Lamb’s four-year, $136 million pact, with $67 million in guaranteed money, the baseline for Nacua.
He may still come in below Jefferson (four years, $140 million, $88.7 million guaranteed) and Chase (four years, $161 million, $73.9 million guaranteed).
However, Nacua has the production to pressure the Rams in ways others cannot to set a new bar.
Puka Nacua Could Have Difficulty Matching Production
GettyPuka Nacua #17 of the Los Angeles Rams carries the ball against the New York Jets.
As long as he remains healthy, Nacua’s greatest challenge to maintaining and potentially even improving upon his historic pace is his teammates. Quarterback Matthew Stafford must remain healthy, too.
However, Stafford has multiple options at his disposal in the passing game.
Nacua helms a wide receiver room that lost Cooper Kupp but replaced the latter with Davante Adams, who inked a two-year, $44 million deal in free agency this offseason.
The group also still has promising contributors Jordan Whittington, Tutu Atwell, and newcomer Konata Mumpfield. Then at tight end, the Rams supplemented Super Bowl champion Tyler Higbee and 2023 addition Colby Parkinson with rookie second-round pick Terrance Ferguson.
Rams running backs also combined for 47 receptions in 2024.
That is a lot of mouths to feed in an offense that also wants to improve its 24th-place ranking (31st per attempt) in the run game.
