Aaron Donald is getting PAID.
The superstar defensive tackle just got a massive raise after helping the LA Rams win the Super Bowl, restructuring his contract that will now pay him $31.6 million per season through 2024.
The new deal has a total value of $95 million, $40 million more than he was scheduled to make under his previous contract. And of the entire deal, a massive $65 million is guaranteed and will be paid out in 2022 and 2023 – which is more than the $63 million guaranteed money in Rams QB Matt Stafford’s contract.
In fact, the new deal makes Donald the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL, and the 12th highest paid player overall. It also marks the first time a defensive player in the NFL has made over $30 million in average salary.
Donald had three years remaining on his previous contract with a $21.5 million average salary.
But that previous deal was signed in 2018, and a lot has changed since then.
For starters, Donald has become one of the most (if not THE most) dominant defensive players in the league. In only eight seasons in the NFL, he’s made the Pro Bowl every season and has been named Defensive Player of the Year three times, tied for most in the history of the award.
Donald also holds the all-time record for the most sacks for the Rams, and the NFL record for the most sacks in a season by a defensive tackle.
Even before this year’s Super Bowl, reports were swirling that Donald was considering stepping away from football after last season. And after he helped the Rams win the Super Bowl over the Bengals earlier this year, Donald didn’t seem like he was entirely committed to returning.
But now it looks like all those talks are over with – and #99 has 95 million reasons to be back out on the field this fall.
