There’s just something kind of cool about when players finally hang up their cleats. Sometimes it feels like the end of an era, and other times, it’s more like closing the book on a career that got wrecked by injuries. Then you’ve got guys like Gronk—retires, comes back, wins a Super Bowl, and then retires again. Or Tom Brady, who basically retired as the NFL’s GOAT.

But lately, anytime retirement comes up, somehow Rams wideout Puka Nacua ends up in the conversation. And yeah, he’s just 23 years old and has played only a couple of seasons in LA. But when you talk about retiring at the age of 30, people will question, given that it might hinder the contract negotiations. But Nacua wasn’t sweating it when he said he just wants to play for 7 or 8 more years.

In fact, the Rams’ wideout has got some cool retirement plans. But they don’t include football. Nope. In fact, Nacua wants to play overseas basketball after hanging up his cleats at the age… well, let’s just say 30 or something.

And given his current offseason moves, it seems like the guy wasn’t talking the talk about his retirement plans. On Sunday, Dov Kleiman shared a clip of Nacua, where the Rams’ wideout can be seen dropping a bucket. “Insane: Rams superstar WR Puka Nacua could easily play in the NBA,” Kleiman wrote in his post.

See, a few weeks ago, Nacua stopped by Julian Edelman’s podcast, Games with Names, where Edelman wondered why Nacua would reveal his retirement plans when it could clearly affect his contract extension negotiations. To which, the Rams’ WR made it clear that he was asked a question, and he just answered.

“I don’t really think about it,” he said about retirement. “They asked the question, but I want to go play overseas basketball. I want to play football, take that money–LaMelo Ball went to Lithuania. Like, I’m sure I could go to another country that only 25% of the world’s ever heard before, get ownership in the team, and go do the Michael Jordan route. I’m gonna get 25 shots up a night.” That’s his post-retirement life in a nutshell.

“I’m gonna be the coach, I’m gonna sub my own minutes in, and then I’m gonna make sure that we’re getting ticket sales at the end of it. Try to work on some actual business. Do it the right way.” Translation? Well, it sounds like after wrapping up his football career, Nacua kind of wants to produce a movie, wants to direct it, and he’s going to star in it as well. And along the way, he’s also going to promote it.

Is it going to be a blockbuster or not? Well, looking at the viral clip in which he was playing like an NBA-calibre guy, it seems like his post-retirement basketball journey overseas is going to be an all-time blockbuster. And he’s already in motion to make his dream come to life. But it’s too early to predict. Because in just his third season, the contract extension talks have already started for Nacua.

Reports say Puka Nacua can be the highest-paid wide receiver

Puka Nacua has been in the pros for a couple of seasons, but he definitely caught some eyes. And given how well his first two seasons unfolded, he’s arguably the next big thing in the league. The Rams selected the WR in the fifth round with the 177th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and ever since, he’s been a stud for LA.

Take his rookie season, for instance. The guy had 105 receptions for 1,486 yards and set many records in his rookie season. Sure, his sophomore season was cut short due to injuries, but he still managed to cross nearly the 1,000-yard mark in just eleven games. Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports published an article in which he talked about the possible contract extensions for each team.

And he named Puka Nacua for the Rams. “Nacua is another player who is eligible for an extension this offseason and has a very good chance of becoming the league’s highest-paid wide receiver,” Sullivan wrote. “That could very well mean he’s also the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, depending on how other contract situations play out.”

“The 23-year-old has been nothing short of dominant through his first two seasons in the league, setting the single-season receiving yards record as a rookie and following that up with 990 yards receiving in just 11 games played in 2024. There’s little doubt that the Rams won’t give him a monumental contract extension at some point in the near future.” See, it’s pretty much certain that Matthew Stafford will hang up his cleats in a year or two.

That means only one thing: Puka Nacua will still be there to complement the rookie in the coming seasons. Having said that, we can assume that the Rams are surely going to keep him on their roster for as many seasons as possible. Of course, his retirement news is all over the internet. But let’s be real, it’s too early to talk about him hanging up his cleats.