Aaron Donald gets a raise from the Rams
- By Josh Clark
- jclark@profootballtechs.com
Donald rose to prominence in college football playing for the Pitt Panthers. He was the 13th overall selection in the 2014 Draft by the Rams (St. Louis Rams at that time). Since he was drafted, Aaron Donald has been a freak-of-nature — even among the giants at his position.
Now, his contract reflects it, too.
Donald, 31, saw his deal reworked by the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, giving him a $40 million raise that makes him the first defensive player to average $30 million a year. In fact, the perennial All-Pro is now the first non-QB in professional football to eclipse that mark.
Agent Todd France negotiated the deal. Donald remains a dominant force on the Super Bowl winning team but had talked about retirement in recent months. The Rams stepped up and made sure Donald is staying put.
Donald has averaged 12.5 sacks a game over the past three years. He posted 20 QB takedowns in 2018 — and perhaps more amazingly, hasn’t posted a Pro Football Focus grade below 92 since his rookie year.
- 2014: Pro Bowl; Defensive ROY
- 2015: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro
- 2016: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro
- 2017: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro; Defensive POY
- 2018: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro; Defensive POY
- 2019: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro
- 2020: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro; Defensive POY
- 2021: Pro Bowl; First-Team AP All-Pro
Take a look at some of Aaron Donald’s career numbers:
- 127 games
- 23 Forced Fumbles
- 441 Combined Tackles
- 285 Solo Tackles
- 98 Sacks
- 150 TFLs
- 226 QB hits
- 1 Safety
As far as sacks go, Donald is 2 away from 100. There are currently only 60 NFL players since 1960 that have 100 or more sacks.