Rams Bet Big on Aaron Donald Long-Term Potential With New Deal

At 31, Aaron Donald finally becomes the highest-paid non quarterback in league, just as Los Angeles looks to repeat as champions

It's best not to call Aaron Donald's new contract with the Los Angeles Rams an extension. In reality, it's more of a pay raise following his heroics in Super Bowl LVI. 

Or was it for the three times he won Defensive Player of the Year? Perhaps it was actually for his role as the team's face since being drafted out of Pitt in 2014.

Call it whatever you will, but Donald is paid up. He'll make over $30 million a season thanks to his new $95 million contract restructure and will become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league at 31. 

Shouldn't that have happened sooner? 

"It's about winning for me, and the pieces are here for that to come to fruition," Donald said Tuesday in his first interview of the offseason. "And for me to be a piece to the puzzle and to be here right now, it's a blessing." 

Everything for the Rams and Donald was mapped out accordingly. After seven All-Pro seasons and a move from St. Louis to Los Angeles, Donald mulled over the idea of retirement. His legacy was already cemented thanks to a fourth-down stop in the Rams' 23-20 win over Cincinnati in SoFi Stadium last February. 

Canton would be calling in five years as it did for Barry Sanders or Calvin Johnson when they hung up the cleats in Detroit early. Why ruin the body and long-term health for $16.5 million a season? 

The Rams knew that retirement was a real possibility for Donald after February's monumental win. General manager Les Snead made it clear Donald's contract would be a priority. Rams coach Sean McVay also wasn't planning on beginning the quest to repeat as world champs without his defensive star. 

McVay said Tuesday that the two sides partook in multiple in-depth conversations about the future of the organization and how Donald fits in with that plan. Donald stayed away from team activities, but the coach never questioned if he would play in 2022. 

“The communication between Aaron and us, and me and him personally, I felt really good about it,” McVay said. “He’s been very clear all along." 

Bringing back Donald only strengthens Los Angeles' chances of remaining a contender for the foreseeable future. With the restructure finalized, he now becomes the fourth major named signed to new terms in the offseason. Los Angeles also extended quarterback Matthew Stafford on a new four-year deal worth $160 million. In free agency, the Rams added All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner and Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson. 

That's only the tip of the iceberg in L.A. entering June. It's widely expected that with Donald locked up, attention will turn toward Cooper Kupp getting paid next. He also shined in 2021, winning the league's receiving the triple crown and taking home Offensive Player of the Year honors. 

The Rams also haven't stopped discussing ways to bring back receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for another go-around. McVay recently said on the I Am Athlete podcast he hopes OBJ will return after his success in the postseason, though nothing is set in stone for either side. 

By restructuring the contract of Donald and others, Los Angeles is following its formula of paying its high-profile stars and building around them with younger talent. Even if it means giving up high draft selections for proven commodities, Snead isn't worried. In large part, the Rams have found consistent success in developing talent from the mid-rounds, turning Day 3 players into quality starters. 

The Rams are playing a risk-reward game by extending only several players while banking on developmental players' upside. And the blueprint has worked thus far in the past five years, so why change course? Since the arrival of McVay, L.A. has missed the postseason once and represented the NFC in the Super Bowl twice. 

To be fair to Snead, there are certainly worse options to bet on the $30-plus million production of Donald — even if he begins to decline as the years go by, 

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