Projecting Puka Nacua's Rams Contract After Jaxon Smith-Njigba's Historic Seahawks Extension

There's pretty much no doubt now that the next salary for Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is going to start with a four.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that Jaxon Smith-Njigba agreed to a four-year extension with the Seattle Seahawks that averages a record-setting $42.2 million annually.

JSN is the second wideout to crack $40-million plus, joining the Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase ($40.3 million).

Nacua and his agent will presumably look to reset the bar, and the Rams will need to plan accordingly. The price for the two-time Pro Bowler could start at $42.3 million and go up from there.

In January, ESPN's Dan Graziano posited a scenario where "the wide receiver market starts to correct itself a little bit." Smith-Njigba and Nacua would sign new contracts that found a middle ground between Chase and Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson ($35 million). That would then create a domino effect of its own.

Now, any hope the Rams had of Nacua taking a little less money is gone.

There may come a point when teams collectively decide the price for top-tier receivers is getting too high.

Prior to Smith-Njigba's new contract, six of the eight highest-paid wideouts played for teams that missed the playoffs. The New England Patriots, meanwhile, won the AFC with a past-his-prime version of Stefon Diggs as their No. 1 option.

As a value play, perhaps it's worth asking whether receivers should be prioritized to this degree when attempting to build a championship-caliber roster. Eventually, the pendulum could begin to shift as it has with running backs, where general managers are content to find cheaper replacements in the draft rather than sign expensive veterans.

There are no signs of that happening anytime soon, though, and certainly not before Nacua finalizes his next contract.