The Los Angeles Rams boast not one but two of the “biggest bargain” players in the NFL, in Puka Nacua and Byron Young.
However, that luxury is about the change.
Both Pro Bowlers are on expiring contracts and due significant raises. Finances are not necessarily a concern for the Rams, but maintaining the level of flexibility they currently enjoy will require proactivity and difficult decisions.
Rams Get Reality Check About Puka Nacua, Byron Young
GettyByron Young has been a good value for the Los Angeles Rams.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport listed Nacua and Young as the best values at their respective positions. He took it a step further with Nacua, writing, “There is no bigger bargain on this list than the relative pittance the Los Angeles Rams are paying wide receiver Puka Nacua.”
Nacua led the NFL in receptions in 2025 amid the historic start to his career.
“It’s also a bargain that could expire just about any time. Nacua is eligible for an extension, and when he signs one he will likely challenge Seattle receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s $42.2 million a season,” Davenport wrote on May 19. “For now though, Nacua will make about a million dollars in 2026—and that’s precious little for the massive impact he makes on the football field.”
The Rams are paying an average of $2.4 million per season for Nacua ($1M) and Young ($1.4M), the latter of whom received similar sentiments about his situation.
Davenport urged Rams general manager Les Snead to ensure that “he has a good pen and a whole lot of cap space, because Puka Nacua isn’t the only young player on the team who is headed toward a monster payday.”
Young bloomed later than Nacua, thriving in 2025 after two “good but not great” seasons.
“Last year was another story,” Davenport wrote. Now, Young enters a contract year as a key component of one of the league’s most formidable defensive fronts.”
Rams Benefiting From Later-Round Picks
GettyLes Snead and the Los Angeles Rams have done well deep into drafts.
The Rams selected Young before Nacua, using the 77th overall pick of the 2023 draft on the EDGE before adding the wideout 100 slots later. That trend of hitting big-time on mid-to-late-round talent is commonplace on the Rams’ roster.
Since winning the Super Bowl in 2021, the Rams have drafted 11 players outside of the first two rounds who Pro Football Reference counts as primary starters for at least one season.
That includes punter Ethan Evans, but neither the 2025 nor the 2026 classes have any.
Nacua and Young’s class was particularly impactful, matching the 2022 haul with five players, again including Evans in the count. However, pay raises are inevitable when that happens, since those players enter the league on less-expensive contracts.
The Rams signed two players from that 2022 class to second contracts. No one from the 2023 group has received an extension yet.
Nacua is expected to reset the wide receiver market. Young is ascending at a key position.
Nacua’s check is written, so long as he remains out of trouble. Davenport projected a contract averaging $30 million a season” could be within reach for Young if he can match his 2025 impact, meaning the Rams are about to get very expensive.
Rams Get Advanced Warning Over Puka Nacua, Pro Bowl Teammate