Following speculation that he may have played his last snap in the NFL, Aaron Donald has agreed to a historic re-worked deal with the Rams that will make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Donald and the Rams re-negotiated the remaining three years on his contract to give him a $40 million raise through the 2024 season. Although no years were added to the deal, Donald is now guaranteed $65 million over the next two seasons and $95 million through the 2024 campaign, according to SI’s Alber Breer.
Donald will now earn $31.6 million per year on average, the highest among all non-quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Rams confirmed Donald’s return shortly after the reports of his re-worked deal emerged on Monday. The star defensive lineman was reportedly in the team’s facility for a physical and officially signed the contract in the afternoon.
The re-worked deal will end any doubt about Donald’s intentions for next season after he had suggested he might retire after winning Super Bowl LVI with the Rams this past February. The three-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year suggested that he would return in 2022 at the team’s victory parade, but his future remained in flux up until this week.
Donald, 31, racked up 12.5 sacks in the 2021 regular season and followed his performance up with 3.5 more in the playoffs during the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl. He was named to his seventh All-Pro first-team and earned his eighth Pro Bowl nod for his output.
Since being selected by the Rams in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, Donald has tallied 98 sacks and established himself as the top defensive player in the league. Now, he’ll be compensated as such and prepared to “run it back” with Los Angeles in 2022.
