Rams DE Aaron Donald has proven his point, now it's time to stop holding out

[OldSchool]

The Easley situation proves AD's point.

If AD has an ACL, he's going to lose 10s of millions. If he has a back injury or savage knee/ankle injury, it could effectively end his career.

All the more reason to get paid asap. If ownership had their druthers, they'd not only have AD through 5 years, but they'd also likely franchise him twice before getting him that 2nd contract.

AD is making it clear that you have to pay the best defensive player in the NFL. They got 3 years, two with him as either the best or 2nd best defensive player in the NFL for rookie cheap. Either ownership is committed to winning or it isn't.

Honestly, unless he's asking like $140M, I don't understand the holdup. The JJ Watt contract should be a nice starting point.

So, again, unless the AD camp is asking for an obscene amount that shatters records, I don't understand why they're trying to slice this so thin.

We'll see soon enough if the Rams care about winning in a real way. We've seen AD take over games. If he's not paid and they deal him, we'll have all the information we need (no, even for an extended holdout, I don't think AD would sit out the season, but I could see his refusal to participate in any activities outside of games and in season practices essentially necessitating a trade and we've seen that before with others)

I just hope they get it worked out. This roster is really coming together.

He won't lose anything, he took out an insurance policy against injury. If anything he's putting himself at risk by not being at camp. We've seen it many times a guy holding out getting hurt when he finally goes to camp.

 

[jrry32]

NAw..tied to every team with a set number of years, under the same program of base pay and incentives

You need a contract to create for that.

 

[nighttrain]

He won't lose anything, he took out an insurance policy against injury

u know this how?
train

 

[Zodi]

I do not advocate trading Donald at all. I do have a hard time paying a DT 20 million per year.

Where are you getting this 20 million per year number? Curious.

 

[simonblaze]

I can understand Aaron Donald's point. I can understand the Rams point. Sometimes no one is wrong. It just sucks for us fans. If we knew the contract demands and offers made, it might be easier for us to critique. But we don't. So let's not criticize Aaron Donald or the Rams. It's just business.

Amen my Ram Brother!

 

[Loyal]

You need a contract to create for that.

An interstate non-union company has a set wages for employees without a contract....bonuses can be a program that is not contractually obligated, aside from meeting the requirements of earning it...

 

[Mackeyser]

He won't lose anything, he took out an insurance policy against injury. If anything he's putting himself at risk by not being at camp. We've seen it many times a guy holding out getting hurt when he finally goes to camp.

I can almost guarantee that the insurance policy is at most good to guarantee the rest of his contract. I simply can't imagine that he's insured for the $120M or so that he's going to get with this next contract.

Yeah, he's the best defensive player in the NFL, but I simply can't imagine underwriting the risk on a future contract based on the byzantine rules which govern NFL contracts.

So, unless he's been dropping major money on insurance, presuming anyone would write such a policy, he's going to have to play and earn the full 2nd contract money. AD just wants to speed up getting there.

When you're the best in the NFL 2 of the 3 years in the league, yeah, you can do that.

I'm just upset that the Rams didn't hit this offseason hard and make sure AD was all tied up. His intensity is infectious.

 

[jrry32]

An interstate non-union company has a set wages for employees without a contract....bonuses can be a program that is not contractually obligated, aside from meeting the requirements of earning it...

You need a contract to obligate a player to play for that specific team. Otherwise, they can simply quit playing for that team and play for another.

 

[Mackeyser]

You need a contract to create for that.

Especially because of the NFL's anti-trust exemption.

The NFL can't legally justify a draft and limiting employment opportunities for rookies for a set time period AND have no contract so that in the case of injury, monies aren't guaranteed. They might like it, but they can't function like a "right to work" company AND have a sanctioned monopoly.

Implementing something like that would amount to a successful challenge to the NFL's anti-trust exemption which would end their ability to maintain the draft. If the owners colluded, that would incur significant fines and the antipathy of players and fans alike.

 

[Loyal]

quit confusing me with facts!

 

[1maGoh]

We got arguably the best player in the NFL from 1999 to 2001. They got a 2nd and a 5th. It was a crappy deal for them because they let emotions dictate a business decision.

It's a great example of why Rams fans are foolish if they're thinking of trading Donald for holding out.

Peyton Manning bailing the Colts out on that bad decision doesn't make it a good decision.

My point was that training a Hall of Fame caliber player doesn't kill your chance of being good. Make some good choices and you're still in the hunt.

However, if you hang your entire team's chances on a Hall of Fame caliber player, when that player is done, you're in for a decline unless you find another one. Or you could drastically change your plan, but that requires rebuilding the team.

Trading Donald isn't a death blow. Maybe it hurts next year. But so would a prohibitively large contact (and that would hurt the next year and maybe the next year too).

It's one respectable, valid option among several respectable, valid options.

 

[jrry32]

My point was that training a Hall of Fame caliber player doesn't kill your chance of being good. Make some good choices and you're still in the hunt.

Have Peyton Manning and you're still in the hunt. If Goff is Peyton Manning good, I'd rather us have both Goff and Aaron Donald than have to rely on a draft pick to hopefully pick a player almost as good as Donald (which is statistically unlikely).

However, if you hang your entire team's chances on a Hall of Fame caliber player, when that player is done, you're in for a decline unless you find another one. Or you could drastically change your plan, but that requires rebuilding the team.

Trading Donald isn't a death blow. Maybe it hurts next year. But so would a prohibitively large contact (and that would hurt the next year and maybe the next year too).

We're not hanging our team's chances on Donald. Donald is simply the best player on the team.

A prohibitively large contract won't hurt this team if Donald continues to play like he has.

It's one respectable, valid option among several respectable, valid options.

It's not a respectable or valid option. It's a massive mistake brought on by emotion rather than reason.

The Eagles let Reggie White walk at 31 years old. It was a mistake the team regretted for a long time. We'd be getting rid of Donald at 26 years old. It would be a foolish mistake that we'd regret for years. You don't let the best defensive player in football go.

 

[OldSchool]

I'm just upset that the Rams didn't hit this offseason hard and make sure AD was all tied up. His intensity is infectious.

As others have said we don't know that the Rams haven't hit it hard. We don't know that AD hasn't hit it hard. It's all assumption as both sides are playing it classy and not negotiating in the public. Anything said other than the two sides are talking as they've said is speculation.

I agree for the record he deserves a raise. I don't like the holdout I think that's the worst thing he can do. People are going to point to Quinn and Austin getting deals in their 3rd year but that was a Fisher led Rams and it's a different Rams now get over those past mistakes. IMO he should be out there every day showing the Rams how much they need and want him. Showing them how great he can be in Wade Phillips defense. Instead he's putting himself behind the curve.

 

[Rambitious1]

It's pretty sad that the team doesn't have the cap space to lock him up. There has been a mismanagement of cap space. Many teams around the league are paying QBs huge money and still have top talent on the team. The Rams by comparison are paying the QB position penny's. It's been pretty bad cap management on the Ram's part.

They've been valuing/prioritizing/paying the wrong players and too much at that.
That's what happens when you don't have a football man running the football end of the organization.

I hope I'm wrong, but as long as DUMBoff is on top of the organizational chart for the 'football' part of the organization as well as the 'business' part of it, the Rams will be (for the most part) mediocre or a bottom feeder team. They may have a good year(s) here and there, but I don't see how they can have sustained success with the current power structure. JMHO.

 

[Prime Time]

Trade him for a 1st and a 2nd. If he's playing pizzed off he's no good to the Rams.

Gave you a like not necessarily because I agree with your post but because I wanted to be # 3,000.

 

[1maGoh]

Have Peyton Manning and you're still in the hunt. If Goff is Peyton Manning good, I'd rather us have both Goff and Aaron Donald than have to rely on a draft pick to hopefully pick a player almost as good as Donald (which is statistically unlikely).



We're not hanging our team's chances on Donald. Donald is simply the best player on the team.

A prohibitively large contract won't hurt this team if Donald continues to play like he has.



It's not a respectable or valid option. It's a massive mistake brought on by emotion rather than reason.

The Eagles let Reggie White walk at 31 years old. It was a mistake the team regretted for a long time. We'd be getting rid of Donald at 26 years old. It would be a foolish mistake that we'd regret for years. You don't let the best defensive player in football go.

I would love to have them both as well. Sadly, one of them is not in camp right now. I would love to have Donald on a long term contract that pays him appropriately to the situation.

But let's be real here, Donald hasn't helped the W column the last 3 years, not much anyway.

You always say that the team's success, every team's success, relies on having a good or better QB (paraphrased for my convenience). I've never heard you or anyone say that about DT or DE. If it becomes necessary, yes we can do without him. If he really intends to sit out actual game over this, trading might be a good option. Might be. It's something to look into, not ignore because we're being emotionally attached to players and the media talking about how great he is (even when it's not really helping).

Donald is great. I never want him to leave. But the team always comes first. If his huge contract keeps us from signing other good players, or encourages a key player to sit out because "hey, Donald got a huge contract, and I affect the game more than him" then yeah, keeping him might be a problem and we need to look at every solution to that problem. Not bury our heads in the sand and whisper "Hall of Fame player" to ourselves while the team continues to suck.

How many players have signed huge contacts like we're expecting for him and either a) they continued to play at the previous level, or b) the team continues to have success. Bonus points if there's an example of both in the same player. Penalty if you mention the Patriots who clearly don't count on any category because they win no matter what and they cheat every (possibly every other) year.

 

[FRO]

Where are you getting this 20 million per year number? Curious.

I read some article that Donald wants to be the highest paid defensive player in the league (could have read that wrong). I believe Von Miller is making money in the 19 million range. The next step is a 20 million dollar defensive player. The problem there is the Rams still have holes on the roster and haven't been a great team with a dominate Donald already on it. Then again letting a hall of fame talent go is stupid as well. You won't get Hershall Walker return for him and as the RGIII trade showed, just because the Rams get a huge bounty doesn't mean they have the ability to turn that talent into wins. The clearly didn't.

 

[FRO]

The Colts has Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and were able to draft a top tier RB in a very good RB class. So while they got a poor return for Faulk (arguably the best all around RB in league history) they weren't hurt too bad. If the Rams lose Donald what do they have? Quinn hasn't produced for a couple of years due to injury. Ogletree is a very good player, but he isn't an all pro guy. Brockers is very good, but he is in the same boat as Ogletree. Johnson is probably on the same level as Brockers and Tree, but he is gone after the year. So losing Donald is much more damaging than the Colts losing Faulk. Then you look at the other side of the coin, how do the Rams improve when Donald takes a large portion of the salary cap? This roster still has holes all over it. The Rams aren't in the greatest of spots. If they trade him they won't get equal value and if it's draft picks in return they may not get value at all just by judging their draft history. If they resign him how do they fill the rest of their roster with talent? I'd probably keep him and try to figure out the rest. He's a once in a generation cornerstone type.