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When healthy and on the field, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has been one of the best wide receivers in the league in his first two seasons in the league. The BYU alum has a knack for creating space and getting open, and catches everything thrown his way.
But, he may not be in the NFL for long. That’s not due to him not being able to stay in the league as he ages. Rather, he simply wants to retire at 30.
Nacua was a fifth-round steal for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft. He instantly was one of the best receivers in the NFL in his rookie season, catching 105 passes for 1486 yards and 6 touchdowns. In 2024, he battled injuries, but still managed 79 catches for 990 yards in just 11 games, a higher per-game yardage output than his 2023 season.
Nacua, who will be 24 when next season begins, could be a superstar in the NFL for a while. But, he’s put a cap on his playing days. Here’s Pro Football Talk with more.
Nacua, who will turn 24 in May, said on the Join The Lobby podcast that he will retire when he’s 30.
“I know I want to retire at the age of 30,” Nacua said, via USA Today. “I’m 23 right now, I’m going into Year 3 – it wouldn’t even be 10 years. It’d be maybe seven or eight. I think of Aaron Donald, to go out at the top, I think it would be super cool. But also, I want to have a big family. I want to have at least a starting five. I came from a big family so I need five boys, for sure. But also, like, I want to be able to be a part of their lives and be as active as I can with them. The injuries are something you can’t control [as] part of the game, so you never know. Hopefully, the rest of the career can go healthy, but you have shoulder surgery, you have knee surgery, you have ankle. By the time my kids could be 18, I could be barely walking if you play the game and sustain all the injuries and stuff like that, but I want to retire early.”
I think we will see a lot more of this kind of thing moving forward. Players understand the long-term health risks and know they can get in, make their money, and get out, like Andrew Luck did. Nacua could be one of the canaries in the coal mine, so to speak.