Los Angeles Rams defensive superstar Aaron Donald seems to be fine with retirement should he and the Rams fail to come to an agreement on a new contract ahead of the 2022 season, and says it’s not all about the money.
“It ain’t about the money, it’s a business at the end of the day,” Donald said during an appearance on the ‘I Am Athlete‘ podcast (h/t ESPN). “That’s what you’ve got to see. For me, it’s about winning. I don’t want to play football if I can’t win anyway, so I feel like … if I got a real opportunity to win another Super Bowl, then it makes sense to play. But again, it’s still a business. We’ve got to handle the business side of things, and if that wasn’t to get handled then, you know, it is what it is type of situation. I’ll be fine regardless.”
Donald, 31, just capped off his eight season in the league with his first Super Bowl Championship, but says that winning a title has nothing to do with his decision process. Donald and the Rams are trying to work on a new deal.
“But me talking about retirement, that was happening way before we won a Super Bowl. I’ve been saying that since I got into the league that I was going to play eight years and be done. That’s just what I’ve been saying. It just came out and then everybody think that, ‘Oh, he said if he wins a Super Bowl he’s going to retire.’ Nah, I got teammates, coaches, my family who know about this. I said I’m going to play eight years, and I’m going to probably be done playing football,” Donald said.
“But winning a Super Bowl you get kind of a little addicted to it. I want to feel that again. I ain’t going to lie, that experience is like none other. If I was to play, it’s just to win another Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, it’s still a business and it got to make sense to me and my family.”
Donald is signed through 2024, but has no guaranteed money left on his deal.
“I was blessed to play this game, to make the money I made, the accomplishments I made in eight years is, like, I’m complete. If I can win another one, that’s great. But if not, I’m at peace,” he added.
Donald continued by saying that he and the Rams will “probably” work out a deal, but if they cannot he would not leave the game “mad”.
