Rams rookie sensation earns monster payday with latest NFL news

The Los Angeles Rams have thrived during the 2023 NFL season on the backs of performances from unheralded rookies. 

No player better encapsulates this than the No. 177 pick in the 2023 NFL draft, former BYU WR Puka Nacua. The rookie amassed 101 receptions for 1,445 receiving yards and five touchdowns through 16 games this season. That's good for the fourth-most yards and seventh-most receptions by a receiver in the NFL so far this season.

The 22-year-old let the NFL world know he was a special player when he broke the league record for catches by a rookie in a single game with 15 receptions in Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season. Now, he's earned his first career selection to the Pro Bowl Games, which takes things to an entirely new level. 

It's not just a matter of reputation and legacy; the selection to the Pro Bowl also comes with financial ramifications. 

Nacua overcomes draft status to earn payday in record time

After the most recent CBA, NFL newcomers can earn pay raises during their first three years in the league, via the Proven Performance Escalator program. 

Puka Nacua has officially earned a Level Three PPE for his selection to a Pro Bowl. He could have earned that in any of his first three seasons, but he didn't wait long to make his presence felt in the NFL. 

The Level Three PPE will raise Nacua's base salary in his fourth year (2026) to the amount of the second-round restricted free-agent tender. This season, the second-round tender is a one-year contract worth $3.986 million, but it could increase by the time 2026 comes around. Nacua will earn roughly as much in a single season as his original four-year $4.084 million contract that he signed with the Rams as a fifth-round draft pick. 

Nacua was originally slated to make a $1.145 million base salary in 2026, so that's around a raise of $3 million for the standout in the final season of his rookie deal. It'll be a nice holdover until his first contract comes due.