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Star defensive tackle Aaron Donald may be weighing a return to the NFL, but the process to re-join the Los Angeles Rams will be more complicated than a simple announcement of his decision.
That's thanks to the contract Donald previously signed with the Rams: a three-year, $95 million renegotiation in 2022 to give him a raise on the six-year, $135 million deal from 2018. But the eight-time All-Pro defender retired before the end of that renegotiated deal. As a result, Los Angeles will still owe Donald $30 million should he return, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"You may not hear about an Aaron Donald deal until later this summer," Schefter said in a July 21 episode of his podcast. "In fact, at this point, it sounds like it would be a surprise to see an Aaron Donald deal sooner.
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"Not only that, he currently is under contract to the Rams for $30 million. And I don't know if the Rams are going to pay him $30 million, as much as he'd like to make that."
OverTheCap founder Jason Fitzgerald confirmed that figure in a social media post. According to OverTheCap, the Rams only have $18.8 million left in cap space for 2026. Both Fitzgerald and Schefter said that Donald and the Rams would likely have to come to terms on a new deal if the star defender ultimately decided to make his NFL comeback.
The money remaining on Donald's deal would not be an insurmountable hurdle if both sides wanted to make his NFL return happen. But it does make things complicated for Los Angeles, a team that just restructured Myles Garrett's five-year, $208.2 million contract after acquiring him in a trade. The Rams also need money to pay emerging young wide receiver Puka Nacua, who is eligible to receive an extension of his own.
Before anything else, Donald will have to decide whether he will commit to returning to the field in 2026. Once that domino falls, the others – including a likely contract renegotiation – will follow.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Aaron Donald's last Rams contract could hinder his return to the NFL
