NFL Rumors: Aaron Donald Sent Rams Retirement Letter During Offseason

The current NFL championship title belongs to the Los Angeles Rams as they claimed victory against the Cincinnati Bengals last season with a big thanks to their defensive superstar Aaron Donald, who added the final piece to his career puzzle, a Vince Lombardi trophy.

This would quickly beg the question however, would Aaron Donald now retire?

After all the seven-time consecutive All-Pro player had accomplished all he set out to do during his eight year career. The eight Pro Bowls, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and now finally a Super Bowl ring after losing in his first opportunity against the New England Patriots in 2019.

Well according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Donald's retirement came as close as a letter sent to the team itself by his agent, Todd France to officially end his career earlier this summer.

Rapoport reports that the Hall of Fame bound defensive tackle sent a letter addressed to the Rams on May 9 containing his decision to retire, which was also addressed to the NFL commissioner himself, Roger Goodell. This letter was obviously never sent to the NFL because as we all know Donald signed a contract extension in the summer to stay with his club for another two seasons, but that conclusion didn't happen overnight.

Donald and LA's front office would engage in multiple talks the follow days and week after his initial letter to better recognize Donald's frame of mind, concluding in a a mutual understanding of his willingness to continue his NFL career.

This led to a restructure of his previous contract to another two seasons with a $40 million raise over three years, meaning Donald will now earn $95 million in total without adding new years to his deal.

The newly inked contract allows Donald to suit up for the Rams, the only team he's played on for another two years, with an opportunity to play a third.

This now takes the 31-year-old defensive tackle to the field tonight to kickoff the football year against the Buffalo Bills and try to repeat as champions in the 2022-23 season.