The Los Angeles Rams won’t have No. 99 lining up in the middle of their defense next season after Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday. He leaves the NFL as the Rams’ all-time leader in career sacks and tied with J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor as the only players to win Defensive Player of the Year three times.
Since coming into the NFL in 2014, Donald signed three different contracts with the Rams. According to Spotrac, he retires with $171 million in career earnings after 10 seasons, a massive amount for any player, but especially a defensive tackle.
Here’s how each of his contracts broke down.
- 2014-2018: 4 years, $10.1 million ($10.1 million guaranteed)
- 2018-2024: 6 years, $135 million ($86.9 million guaranteed, reworked after 4 years)
- 2022-2024: 3 years, $95 million ($95 guaranteed, ended after 2 years)
Assuming Aaron Donald was given $13.8M per a 2024 salary conversion, the former #13 overall pick & future first ballot Hall of Famer secured $171M across 10 NFL seasons, all with the #Rams organization.https://t.co/U1QfwX8ahv pic.twitter.com/dKWOqrqkBP
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 15, 2024
Donald will go down as one of the best defensive players in NFL history, if not the very best. He’s a lock to make the Hall of Fame in 2029 when he’s first eligible, so Canton can already reserve a spot for the Rams legend.