{"id":785816,"date":"2026-07-26T17:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/785816\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T17:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T17:26:08","slug":"despite-no-second-contract-puka-nacua-apparently-wont-be-holding-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/785816\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite no second contract, Puka Nacua apparently won’t be holding in"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement makes it harder than ever for a player who wants a new contract to hold out. As a result, the vast majority of players who are waiting for their next deal will hold in, showing up for training camp but not risking injury at practice until the ink is drying on the last page.<\/p>\n

Rams receiver Puka Nacua, who has had three stellar seasons and who is little more than seven months away from free agency, apparently won\u2019t be holding in.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, he\u2019ll practice, yes,\u201d coach Sean McVay told reporters on Saturday when asked about Nacua. \u201cMy understanding is everybody\u2019s going to practice and be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nacua is due to make $5.767 million this year. Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, drafted the same year as Nacua, has gotten a contract that pays a record-setting $42.15 million annually.<\/p>\n

Complicating Nacua\u2019s situation is the off-field issues that emerged during the offseason. It has put Nacua in a far different posture. He\u2019s grateful for the support he has gotten from the Rams. And if he\u2019s not extremely leery about what could happen with the civil lawsuit alleging that he bit a woman on New Year\u2019s Eve, he should be. <\/p>\n

The latest reporting<\/a> on the case mentioned the possibility of Nacua entering a diversion program, which would open the door to a suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy.<\/p>\n

That fact alone significantly complicates Nacua\u2019s negotiations with the Rams. A suspension would likely void his guarantees, unless the contract specifically carves out the incident that gave rise to the lawsuit and potential diversion program. Even if the Rams would be willing to do that, such a concession will come with a price, likely in the form of less total money under the contract.<\/p>\n

Regardless, Nacua has far greater value than $5.767 million. He has been every bit as good, if not better, than Smith-Njigba. At Nacua\u2019s best, no receiver in the NFL is better.<\/p>\n

Surely, efforts have been made by Nacua\u2019s agents to get him the security he has earned. But if the security is going to come with an asterisk due to the lingering off-field problem, it\u2019s not really security.<\/p>\n

Nacua\u2019s only viable option is to move forward. To have another great year. To hope that his incredibly physical style doesn\u2019t lead to an injury that hampers his long-term value. And to hope that the off-field situation can be wrapped up efficiently and as favorably as possible, so that he can get the contract he already deserves after the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Unless, of course, the Rams decide to take advantage of a franchise tag that, for receivers, falls far below market value.<\/p>\n

The situation reveals the very real financial consequences of off-field misconduct, alleged or actual. Even if Nacua is fully cleared, the mere existence of the allegation has bogged down his effort to receive the contract his performance merits, and it forces him to play for less than he\u2019s worth while risking the kind of injury that would keep him from ever getting paid the way he already should be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The current Collective Bargaining Agreement makes it harder than ever for a player who wants a new contract…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-785816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}