Ever since the Los Angeles Rams selected Puka Nacua with the No. 177 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, he has been one of the best wide receivers (and stories) in the NFL.
It is rare for a fifth-round pick to come in and have the type of success Nacua has enjoyed over his first two seasons. Let’s examine Nacua’s contract, salary, and net worth.
Puka Nacua’s Contract and Salary
On June 20, 2023, Nacua inked a four-year contract worth $4,084,977 with Los Angeles. The deal featured $244,980 in guarantees and a $244,980 signing bonus.
This season, his base salary is just $915,000 and with his prorated $61,245 signing bonus, his cap hit is just $976,245.
He is easily one of the biggest bargains in the NFL. For reference, he is the 191st-highest-paid wide receiver in the league.
Nacua is earning less than wide receivers like Arizona Cardinals WR Andre Baccellia, Cincinnati Bengals WR Kendrick Pryor, Carolina Panthers WR Dax Milne, Jacksonville Jaguars WRs Austin Trammell, and many other virtually unknown players.
Nacua signed a standard rookie deal that is customary for his draft slot, and outside of the signing bonus, there is very little room for negotiation when it comes to rookie contracts in the NFL.
Nacua’s net worth is currently estimated to be roughly $1 million. Through two NFL seasons, he has earned $1,909,976.
Rams vs. Vikings Game Preview
- Location: Glendale, Arizona; State Farm Field
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Channel: ABC, ESPN, ESPN+
Nacua is trying to lead the Rams past the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Cound Round of the NFL playoffs.
The winner of this game will travel to face the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Eagles, who easily defeated the Green Bay Packers 22-10 in their Wild Card game.
With this being a neutral site game due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the Rams cannot rely on home-field advantage. Away from SoFi Stadium this year, the Rams are 5-3, and they did play once at State Farm Stadium back in Week 2 when they lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 41-10.
The Rams have been playing really great football lately, winning five straight before falling in a meaningless game against the Seattle Seahawks in the season finale, where key players earned much-needed rest.
The Vikings fell from potentially being the No. 1 overall seed to the No. 5 seed when they lost the season finale to the Lions. That game saw Minnesota’s offense stall in the red zone, settling for multiple field goals, as QB Sam Darnold had one of his worst outings of the year.
Pro Football Network’s OFF+ metric sees this as a top-15 matchup, and there could be potential for many points on Monday night. The Rams are ranked No. 11, and the Vikings are No. 13.
Cooper Kupp and Nacua are elite wide receivers, so counting this team out is irresponsible.
This season, Kyren Williams helped Los Angeles’ offense rank seventh in rushing success rate. The respect Williams demands from opposing defenses has allowed the Rams to rank seventh in third-down avoidance. They constantly operate from ahead of the chains, a common trait of successful offenses.
The passing game hasn’t been the most consistent weekly, leading to a reasonably wide fluctuation in grades. The Rams have four top-five weekly finishes but also four weeks ranking 20th or worse. Still, with Nacua and Kupp healthy, Los Angeles’ upside gives it a fighting chance to win a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl 56 victory.
The Vikings have sometimes looked like an elite offensive unit, but several down weeks kept their final ranking outside the top 10. Darnold has affirmatively answered any questions about his ability to lead this team to Super Bowl contention, but Week 18 was a reminder that his floor remains very low.
One of Minnesota’s worst traits this season was the red-zone offense, where they finished 19th in touchdown rate. That reared its ugly head in the division-deciding loss to the Lions, where the Vikings had one success on 14 red-zone plays.
That was the worst red-zone success rate in a game over the last five seasons (min. 10 plays). The passing game finished 10th in success rate, which helped this unit overcome a fairly average rushing game (17th in success rate).
Head coach Kevin O’Connell’s willingness to seek out explosive plays on early downs has helped Darnold avoid difficult situations, as Minnesota avoided third downs at the fifth-highest rate of any offense.
Per Pro Football Network’s Playoff Predictor, with 10,000 simulations, the Rams are an underdog and given just a 43.8% chance of winning against the Vikings.