{"id":270253,"date":"2026-03-25T09:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=270253"},"modified":"2026-03-25T09:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:00:01","slug":"what-jaxon-smith-njigbas-contract-extension-means-for-the-rams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/03\/25\/what-jaxon-smith-njigbas-contract-extension-means-for-the-rams\/","title":{"rendered":"What Jaxon Smith-Njigba\u2019s Contract Extension Means for the Rams"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Seattle Seahawks<\/a> receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba signed a record-breaking four-year extension<\/a> worth $168.6 million with $120 million guaranteed. The deal is the biggest for a wide receiver in NFL history, making Smith-Njiba the highest-paid receiver at $42 million annually.<\/p>\n

Deservedly so, Smith-Njiba is somewhere celebrating his extension, and so is Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua,<\/a> knowing his contract will be even bigger. Nacua and Smith-Njiba are both members of the 2023 draft class and the best receivers. Slated to become free agents after this upcoming season, Smith Njiba\u2019s market-setting deal will only guarantee a huge contract for Nacua. It\u2019s only a matter of time before it happens.<\/p>\n

Puka’s Contract Timeline<\/h3>\n

Reportedly, the deal will take a while because of the number of crucial players the Rams need to pay. For now, the Rams are focused on getting deals done with other players and bolstering the roster before giving Nacua and other players extensions. Since Nacua is still under contract this season, the Rams have the option to wait until next offseason to get a deal done.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy expectation, based on the conversations that I have had, is that it\u2019s a different situation with Puka and the Rams. A lot of young guys that they have to pay, and a lot of other business to conduct, as well,\u201d NFL Network reporter Mike Garafolo said<\/a>. \u201cSo, the expectation on my end is that the Puka deal is going to take a while and to be further into the summer before we see something happen there.\u201d<\/p>\n

General manager Les Snead is also focused on the draft<\/a>. While drafted players don\u2019t significantly impact a team\u2019s salary space, the Rams must still evaluate which positions are the most important. Losing in the NFC Championship game last season only reaffirmed the Rams\u2019 belief that they can win another Super Bowl under head coach Sean McVay. Nacua\u2019s extension is imminent, but he must wait until his extension becomes a priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timeline with those players, obviously, we\u2019ve chatted with them,\u201d Snead said<\/a>. \u201cA lot of times, that\u2019s been during the season or right after the season, not necessarily getting right to the nuts and bolts of the business side of it. We\u2019ll be in conversations. We\u2019ll have some macro-level thoughts on how we want to go forward. I do think we naturally will tackle players whose contracts are expiring first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rams Current Focus<\/h3>\n

The Rams\u2019 most favorable timeframe to complete the extension is as soon as possible because the pressure rests on their shoulders. Any hope of saving money or trying to negotiate for a more favorable deal no longer exists. Nacua\u2019s deal will most likely be greater than Smith-Njiba\u2019s based on his performance and importance to the team. Should Snead choose not to draft a receiver<\/a>, the Rams will still be very dependent on Nacua in the open field reception game. Davante Adams had the second-highest receiving yards on the team with 789 yards and 60 receptions.<\/p>\n

Nacua is a top-five receiver in the league, and after a 1715-yard season, he has entered the discussion as the best pass catcher in the league. He led the NFL with 107 yards per game and 129 receptions last season. His thrilling playstyle creates a nightmare matchup for any defender and creates an opportunity for an explosive play at any moment.<\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> waited an extra year to pay top league receiver Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/a>, and it cost them. Chase eventually signed a four-year, $161 million deal with $112 million guaranteed, which was the highest at the time. Nacua\u2019s price will only increase as time goes on. If the Rams want to save money, the time to start negotiating is now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s new extension has reset the market. The Rams must figure out a way to balance Puka’s contract with the needs of the team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5758,"featured_media":270336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<\/smartframe-embed>","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,34],"tags":[6672,9627,34258,9950,1465],"class_list":["post-270253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-rams","tag-jamarr-chase","tag-jaxon-smith-njigba","tag-les-snead","tag-puka-nacua","tag-sean-mcvay"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270253"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270325,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270253\/revisions\/270325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}