Who is Aaron Donald?
Aaron Donald is an American footballer who currently plays for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL. Donald has the great physical strength and has been ranked as one of the top defensive players in the NFL.
Early Life
Donald was born on May 23, 1991, in Pittsburgh. He grew up along with his two siblings with a humble beginning. His father Archie was also a football player and was a driving force who mentored Donald in his early days with them focusing on strength training. The two would be up before 5 am where they would work out in the basement gym that Donald’s father had made. He was impressive as a child playing and after high school, he committed to his hometown in Pittsburgh over other offers.
Professional Career
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By the sophomore year of his college days, he was playing in the starting lineup and had a great campaign. He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous All-American.
At the NFL Combine, Donald set the record for fastest 40-yard dash time for a defensive tackle with a 4.68. By 2014, he would sign a Rookie contract with the Rams with $10 million guaranteed over a four year period. He had a great start with him being a part of the 2015 Pro Bowl as well as being named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
He has had some instances where his temper sometimes got the better of him which resulted in fines but they were nothing as big as his salary couldn’t handle.
He also had a great 2017 season where he would be named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was ranked #7 by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018. 2019 has also been a good start for Donald with him being named in the AP All-Pro First Team as well as again getting the award for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Aaron Donald Height and Weight
The defensive tackler for LA Rams stands to be 6 feet 1 inch or 1.85 m tall. Meanwhile, he weighs 127 kg or 280 pounds.
Aaron Donald Net Worth, Salary, Earnings & Contract
Aaron signed a 6 year $135,000,000 contract with LA Rams, including a $40,000,000 signing bonus, $86,892,000 guaranteed with an average annual salary of $22,500,000.
His base salary for 2019 is $9,108,000 carrying a cap hit of $17,108,000 and a dead cap value of $58,108,000.
Aaron Donald Total Earnings:
| Year | Team | Salary | Signing Bonus | Total Cash |
| 2014 | LA Rams | $420,000 | $5,692,000 | $6,112,000 |
| 2015 | LA Rams | $880,750 | $9946,260 | |
| 2016 | LA Rams | $1,341,500 | $1,341,500 | |
| 2017 | LA Rams | $1,802,250 | $1,802,250 | |
| 2018 | LA Rams | $892,000 | $40,000,000 | $40,892,000 |
Aaron Donald has earned a total $51,094,010 from 2014 to 2018 at NFL.
As of 2019, Aaron Donald net worth is estimated to be over $35 million. He definitely falls among the elites at such a young age through the sheer effort he has put in over the years. He is currently the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
The six-year contract makes him worth $135 million among which the $87 million amount is guaranteed. This makes him the first non-quarterback to average more than $20 million annually.
Personal Life
His brother Archie Jr. is also a footballer. The two grew up and both trained together to get into the NFL. They both actually had a dream to help their parent’s retire, which they say was one of the driving forces in their career. Fast forward to today, they have made this dream a reality as retirement funds have been set up for them and brand new homes have been bought. Even today, when the three are together at home, they occasionally return to their old basement gym for offseason workouts.
