The Rams are officially on the clock.
No, not for the NFL draft. They still have to wait their turn before making their first selection with the 13th pick overall next month.
But when it comes to paying one of the best wide receivers in the game, the Rams haven’t just stepped into the batter’s box, they’re bracing for a high heater that will undoubtedly reach over 100 MPH.
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Of course, we’re talking about Puka Nacua, whom the Rams have been preparing to lock up on a new contract. The only question was how much it would cost to ensure one of the game’s most productive weapons stayed in Los Angeles.
On Monday, we got a much better idea of what that will be. And to say it will be expensive is an understatement.
The Rams’ NFC West rival Seahawks made sure of that Monday when they agreed to terms with their own star wide receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, on a contract that will make him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL.
Smith-Njigba’s new deal is for four years and worth up to $168.6 million. The guaranteed portion is $120 million, and his average annual salary is a whopping $42.15 million.
With the Seahawks and Smith-Njigba resetting the wide receiver market before the Rams could, you can expect Nacua to be already thinking about topping it.
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Nacua, who is going into the last year of his rookie contract, is due to make $5,767,000 in 2026.
That should change at some point this offseason, with the Rams likely coming to terms with their star receiver on a deal that will pay him a few million more than what Smith-Njigba got from the Seahawks.
That is typically how these deals work. The minute one player pushes the market to a new level, there’s always another waiting to eclipse it.
If that were a concern for the Rams, they would have made sure to be the first out of the gate. But they are willing to sit back and let things play out. They also face different dynamics than the Seahawks.
Just from their 2023 draft class alone, defensive linemen Byron Young and Kobie Turner and offensive linemen Warren McClendon and Steve Avila are all in line for extensions, along with Nacua.
Also, 2024 draftees Jared Verse and Braden Fiske will be due for new contracts within the next year or so as well.
Rams general manager Les Snead touched on the challenge of juggling all those deals shortly after the club’s 2025 season ended.
“The timeline with those players, obviously we’ve chatted with them,” Snead said. “A lot of times that’s been during the season or right after the season, not necessarily getting right to the nuts and bolts of the business side of it. We’ll be in conversations. We’ll have some macro level thoughts on how we want to go forward. I do think we naturally will tackle players whose contracts are expiring first.”
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Don’t expect the Rams to rush into more heightened talks with Nacua. The plan could be to focus on the upcoming draft and then circle back soon after.
“You go through the draft. Through the whole process with those type of players, we’re well aware that we have another year with them,” Snead said. “We’re well aware that they’re very good players and we’d like to continue riding with those players into the future. Then we begin working through that with all of them.”
