Puka Nacua just completed his second NFL season, but the Los Angeles Rams receiver has already identified a natural endpoint for his career.
‘I know I want to retire at the age of 30,’ Nacua said in an appearance on the ‘Join the Lobby’ podcast.
Nacua is 23 years old, which would put him on track to play about seven more seasons. It would also allow him to follow in the footsteps of his teammate Aaron Donald and head for an early retirement.
‘I think of Aaron Donald – to go out at the top, I think it would be super cool,’ Nacua said.
Nacua also noted his desire to retire early stems from his aspiration to have a big family. He said he wants to have at least ‘a starting five’ – ‘I need five boys for sure,’ he said – after growing up as one of six siblings.
‘I want to be able to be a part of their lives and be as active as I can with them,’ Nacua said, referencing his future children.
Nacua acknowledged that injuries ‘are something you can’t control’ but communicated that retiring at 30 would at least mitigate some of the injury risk.
‘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,’ Nacua said. ‘But I want to retire early.’
What would Nacua do after retiring? The 23-year-old is planning to get into real estate and will explore that avenue before his NFL career ends.
Nacua set the NFL’s all-time rookie receiving record in 2023 when he caught 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. He had 79 catches for 990 yards and three touchdowns across 11 games during the 2024 NFL season.