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With the regular season now just a month away, contract talks between the Rams and defensive lineman Aaron Donald remain stalled. (AP Photo/Greg Beacham)
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By Vincent Bonsignore | vbonsignore@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: August 10, 2017 at 5:48 pm | UPDATED: August 10, 2017 at 6:17 pm
IRVINE – The Rams will play their first preseason game of 2017 Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. Barring a major development between now and kickoff, their best player won’t even be in the same area code, let alone in uniform and on the field with the rest of his teammates.
The contract holdout of All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald continues to linger, hovering over the Rams like a thick morning marine layer off the Pacific Ocean.
On and on it goes, now officially two weeks in length and months in execution if you go all the way back to the Rams’ organized offseason team activities. Donald was a no-show throughout OTA’s, firmly planting his feet in the ground in protest of a contract that doesn’t reflect his stature as the NFL’s best interior defensive lineman and the internal fortitude to fight for a new deal that does.
The last time we actually saw Donald and the Rams in the same vicinity was at a mandatory minicamp June 13. But whatever positive vibes his appearance created in Thousand Oaks that day soon faded amid contract talks that yielded no resolution, an official training camp report date that passed without Donald reporting and the 13 days that have followed in which Donald has conspicuously remained AWOL.
Donald and his camp have been eerily quiet throughout, but we can safely surmise they are seeking a deal that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL and surpasses in annual salary the $19,062,500 that Ndamukong Suh makes and the $60 million in guaranteed money his six-year contract with the Dolphins pays him.
We can also safely assume the Rams have pushed a life-changing pile of money to the middle of the table for Donald to accept, an amount that will grant the 26-year-old Pittsburgh native his wish to be the highest-paid defensive player in the league.
They are wise enough to understand what they uncovered when they drafted Donald 13th overall in 2014, and that, three years into his original rookie deal he is wildly underpaid and deserves a contract worthy of his current stature.
In that respect, the two sides share mutual ground. Donald wants his just due and the Rams want to do right by him.
On the other hand, months of contract talks have yielded no resolution. For all the mutual motivation they share, they just aren’t connecting on the key elements of a mutually satisfactory contract.
The reasons for that could vary:
Those are all valid negotiating points. And Donald and his camp have every right to fight and scratch for every desirable dynamic.
But here’s the thing.
Donald may want all of the above, but aside from doing right by him on a worthy pay bump and the kind of guaranteed money that will comfortably take care of him and his family for generations to come, what is the Rams’ incentive to give in on everything, including how much Donald wants to soar over the Suh benchmark?
The answer, frankly, is very little.
Holdout or no holdout.
Donald still has two years remaining on his original deal. And if you take it a step further, he’s under the Rams’ control through the 2020 season when factoring in the franchise tag tool.
They hold all the leverage. And while they want Donald back in camp like yesterday, they’ll hold firm in their position because there’s no reason not to.
Which brings us to the real crux of this holdout and what will ultimately determine how long it lasts.
Safely assuming the Rams have pushed a life-changing amount of money for Donald to the middle of the table – an amount that, when divvied up, will perch him at the top of defensive player salaries – is he so entrenched in his demands he’s willing to continue to turn that kind of coin down?
And do what?
Come back and play this year and next year before, maybe, hitting free agency in 2019? In the meantime, risk getting hurt and throwing away $70 million or more in guarantees?
Donald has $8 million, total, coming to him over the next two years. That’s a lot of money, relatively speaking. But it ain’t $70 million, now is it?
Or maybe he continues to hold out and start missing paychecks he’ll never recoup.
Do either of those options seem appealing, giving the amount of money we can safely assume the Rams are offering?
The regular season is still a month away. There’s plenty of time for Donald to think all this out and, when the time comes, make a sound decision.
But you get the sense the Rams have gone pretty much as far as they’re willing to go on his demands. There’s really no incentive go any further.
That points the spotlight directly on Donald and his camp.
The question is, what, exactly, is their end game?
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/1...nalds-holdout-lingering-what-is-his-end-game/
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By Vincent Bonsignore | vbonsignore@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: August 10, 2017 at 5:48 pm | UPDATED: August 10, 2017 at 6:17 pm
IRVINE – The Rams will play their first preseason game of 2017 Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. Barring a major development between now and kickoff, their best player won’t even be in the same area code, let alone in uniform and on the field with the rest of his teammates.
The contract holdout of All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald continues to linger, hovering over the Rams like a thick morning marine layer off the Pacific Ocean.
On and on it goes, now officially two weeks in length and months in execution if you go all the way back to the Rams’ organized offseason team activities. Donald was a no-show throughout OTA’s, firmly planting his feet in the ground in protest of a contract that doesn’t reflect his stature as the NFL’s best interior defensive lineman and the internal fortitude to fight for a new deal that does.
The last time we actually saw Donald and the Rams in the same vicinity was at a mandatory minicamp June 13. But whatever positive vibes his appearance created in Thousand Oaks that day soon faded amid contract talks that yielded no resolution, an official training camp report date that passed without Donald reporting and the 13 days that have followed in which Donald has conspicuously remained AWOL.
Donald and his camp have been eerily quiet throughout, but we can safely surmise they are seeking a deal that makes him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL and surpasses in annual salary the $19,062,500 that Ndamukong Suh makes and the $60 million in guaranteed money his six-year contract with the Dolphins pays him.
We can also safely assume the Rams have pushed a life-changing pile of money to the middle of the table for Donald to accept, an amount that will grant the 26-year-old Pittsburgh native his wish to be the highest-paid defensive player in the league.
They are wise enough to understand what they uncovered when they drafted Donald 13th overall in 2014, and that, three years into his original rookie deal he is wildly underpaid and deserves a contract worthy of his current stature.
In that respect, the two sides share mutual ground. Donald wants his just due and the Rams want to do right by him.
On the other hand, months of contract talks have yielded no resolution. For all the mutual motivation they share, they just aren’t connecting on the key elements of a mutually satisfactory contract.
The reasons for that could vary:
- The Rams aren’t willing to go as high over the Suh market as Donald is demanding;
- The two sides can’t find common ground on how much money is guaranteed;
- Donald’s camp is seeking a deal flexible enough to account for any future upward spike of the salary cap, or one he can maneuver out of sooner rather than later if someone comes along to surpass him as the highest-paid defensive player.
Those are all valid negotiating points. And Donald and his camp have every right to fight and scratch for every desirable dynamic.
But here’s the thing.
Donald may want all of the above, but aside from doing right by him on a worthy pay bump and the kind of guaranteed money that will comfortably take care of him and his family for generations to come, what is the Rams’ incentive to give in on everything, including how much Donald wants to soar over the Suh benchmark?
The answer, frankly, is very little.
Holdout or no holdout.
Donald still has two years remaining on his original deal. And if you take it a step further, he’s under the Rams’ control through the 2020 season when factoring in the franchise tag tool.
They hold all the leverage. And while they want Donald back in camp like yesterday, they’ll hold firm in their position because there’s no reason not to.
Which brings us to the real crux of this holdout and what will ultimately determine how long it lasts.
Safely assuming the Rams have pushed a life-changing amount of money for Donald to the middle of the table – an amount that, when divvied up, will perch him at the top of defensive player salaries – is he so entrenched in his demands he’s willing to continue to turn that kind of coin down?
And do what?
Come back and play this year and next year before, maybe, hitting free agency in 2019? In the meantime, risk getting hurt and throwing away $70 million or more in guarantees?
Donald has $8 million, total, coming to him over the next two years. That’s a lot of money, relatively speaking. But it ain’t $70 million, now is it?
Or maybe he continues to hold out and start missing paychecks he’ll never recoup.
Do either of those options seem appealing, giving the amount of money we can safely assume the Rams are offering?
The regular season is still a month away. There’s plenty of time for Donald to think all this out and, when the time comes, make a sound decision.
But you get the sense the Rams have gone pretty much as far as they’re willing to go on his demands. There’s really no incentive go any further.
That points the spotlight directly on Donald and his camp.
The question is, what, exactly, is their end game?
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/1...nalds-holdout-lingering-what-is-his-end-game/
