Make what you will about the mental lapses of Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver Puka Nacua. The bottom line that most fans instantly point to is one simple fact: he’s just that good. While many fans focus on receiving yards, other measurements define elite talent in the NFL.

And Nacua scores incredibly high in almost every category.

Pro Football Focus may not be the gold standard of measuring NFL quality, but they are typically in the right ballpark. And they list Puka Nacua as the second-best NFL player from 2025. To justify that lofty placement, they share a number of statistics that are the best-ever in their history of recording player performances.

So what’s the problem?

Well, two challenges instantly spring to mind. The first is basic affordability. While speculation is all fans have to go on, some projections set Nacua’s price at over $40 million per year for his first contract extension. Worth it? Perhaps. But keep in mind that money spent to reward Nacua cannot be spent on other players who may contribute in 2026.

And the Cincinnati Bengals set the market at $40 million per season for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. They finished with a record of 6-11 in 2025. So there’s that.

Affordability is still a thing in the NFL.

Puka Nacua may be struggling with maturity at age 24

There is a saying among the Amish community in Pennsylvania.

“We are too soon old, and too late smart”.

And that seems to describe the challenges that LA Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is experiencing right now.

In a horribly ill-timed rant on social media, LA’s BYU star receiver blasted NFL officials. While some fans turned a blind eye, writing off the mishap as immaturity, it wasn’t long before NFL officials exacted their revenge. And therin lies the problem.

The team pays for Puka’s problems.

Passionate people only know one tempo. Another cliché, play hard, work hard, instantly brings that type of person to mind. It’s logical to include Nacua in that category.

But playing hard is risky for a wide receiver with so much responsibility for LA’s offense on his shoulders. While it may not be fair, it’s the reason he is targeted so frequently and achieves such lofty production on a football field.

If there are questions about Nacua’s level of maturity, any commitment of significant salary cap dollars is at risk. Nobody is suggesting the team not pay their star receiver. But it would be wise to hedge the risks with production clauses that pay him for doing the right things, and not pay him for doing the wrong things.

This team spent significant dollars on players whose production plummeted after they got paid. It was a costly lesson in NFL economics. But that lesson will be worth it if the team measures risk effectively in future contracts.

And Puka Nacua’s extension will be the first true test.

As always, thanks for reading.