Aaron Donald’s contract situation

[Ram65]

Having him under contract for south of $7 million (i.e. less than half of what Suh makes) should be considered outright larceny. And yet the Rams are content to let his contract situation hang out there, dealing away draft picks for other stars who will soon need to be paid, handing out big money to Suh, lavishing Cooks with an extension, and ... wait?

Dripple. It's called leverage.

On one level, extending Cooks right now made sense. Getting his deal done before Odell Beckham Jr. and/or Julio Jones sign new contracts means you get to set the market rather than letting other teams do it, which means you keep your cost basis down by just a little bit. If the Rams believe Cooks is their No. 1 wideout for the foreseeable future, getting him locked in before other similarly-situated players get paid is a smart move.

Giving Rams credit after bashing and assuming the worst in dealing with AD.

Can the Rams afford to pay all of them? Can they afford to anger Donald by not giving him his money now, and risking that he wants to walk? Are they willing to franchise him for multiple seasons and then pay him big money? Do they want to go year-to-year with it like they did with Johnson, and then let him walk when he hits free agency at age 30? Given the way defensive tackles age, is that actually the smart play? (Donald is *technically* an end in Wade Phillips' 3-4 but he plays on the interior so we're using tackle as a shorthand.) And if they're franchising Donald next year, what happens with Joyner?

IIRC there is an article a little way back in this thread that made more sense about the delay in signing AD. It said that now is the time for both sides to pick up contract talks because everyone was on summer vacation after OTAs.

I think a deal is close to getting done. It makes sense for both sides to move forward. Rams have been saying all the right things in public as has Donald's representatives. Assuming the Rams are the hold up is wrong. It takes both sides to make a deal happen.

 

[Mackeyser]

I think they have the bones of a deal done and wanted to cross as much of the other stuff off because AD will be flexible as long as he gets his money and guarantees.

This team is a winner and AD is as competitive if not more than someone like Ray Lewis.

I think now that Cooks has been locked up that AD will be signed shortly.

I think it will be a big deal to have him signed and in TC for this DL to really gel.

 

[Ken]

I predict AD will be signed before this thread gets to 30 pages. And then I'll be confident that the FO has a plan to retain the right players to make up the core of this team.

 

[kurtfaulk]

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On nfl live today Jeff Darlington challenged Donald to turn up to camp and take the offer on the table. Said it was a huge offer. Said don't let the narrative change to why he isn't taking the deal and why isn't he at camp when the rams have made such a good offer.

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[Loyal]

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On nfl live today Jeff Darlington challenged Donald to turn up to camp and take the offer on the table. Said it was a huge offer. Said don't let the narrative change to why he isn't taking the deal and why isn't he at camp when the rams have made such a good offer.

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I wonder if we have reached another stage in the drama? When actual contract numbers get released, it's probably meant to pressure Donald and his agents into signing (good deal), which could make things nasty. I wonder if Darlington knows the numbers? I guess Donald is trying to outwait Khalil Mack's contract numbers? Just get it done, Aaron.

Pretty please, with sprinkles on top?

 

[dang]

I think the proverbial "don't worry about things that don't matter or you cannot control". Clearly being the highest paid NFL defensive player matters to Donald but once his contract is signed he cannot control future contracts that might be higher.

So with that said - make him the highest paid NFL defensive player at the time of his signing, making sure the guaranteed $$$ resets the bar for defensive players - then let the future take care of itself. If the contract/guaranteed $$$ on the table covers this for Donald - it will be hard to defend Donald holding out beyond the start of training camp.

 

[dang]

I think the proverbial "don't worry about things that don't matter or you cannot control". Clearly being the highest paid NFL defensive player matters to Donald but once his contract is signed he cannot control future contracts that might be higher.

So with that said - make him the highest paid NFL defensive player at the time of his signing, making sure the guaranteed $$$ resets the bar for defensive players - then let the future take care of itself. If the contract/guaranteed $$$ on the table covers this for Donald - it will be hard to defend Donald holding out beyond the start of training camp.

Oh....and if Mack is holding out to have a bigger contract than Donald...then F Mack and F the Raiders for even thinking Mack deserves more $$$ than Donald.

 

[Merlin]

Only 26 pages??? That all you guys got??? So disappointing.

 

[RhodyRams]

If I remember correctly,the sticking point last year at this time was the opt out clause.AD wanted to be able to opt out after 3years, and the Rams said no

 

[Merlin]

So refresh my memory here.... What date is his "no return" where he has to be reported or he gives the Rams a year of control?

 

[PressureD41]

AD99 was said to be close the day when Cooks got his deal.
Vet show on Wednesday July 25th. The question is how much does he hate training camp? Does he hate camp like O. Pace did and will he tell team he will sign once the hard part of camp is over, and wants to be free of playing in pre season games also?
The way he trains I say he gets that no problems

 

[tempests]

Oh....and if Mack is holding out to have a bigger contract than Donald...then F Mack and F the Raiders for even thinking Mack deserves more $$$ than Donald.

I find it hard to believe either Mack or Donald is holding out because of the other one. They're both Defensive Players of the Year, does it matter if the other guy makes a few bucks more, make it up in endorsements.

 

[RamFan503]

I find it hard to believe either Mack or Donald is holding out because of the other one. They're both Defensive Players of the Year, does it matter if the other guy makes a few bucks more, make it up in endorsements.

So can someone correct me? My understanding is that Mack is not only making more but can hold out longer than AD. Not sure where I read that and sorry if I'm short on details but I read a pretty detailed article that laid it all out. Bottom line was that AD literally cannot wait out Mack.

 

[So Ram]

Oh....and if Mack is holding out to have a bigger contract than Donald...then F Mack and F the Raiders for even thinking Mack deserves more $$$ than Donald.

Lol !!! Whatever ?? The drama will continue!!

 

[So Ram]

AD99 was said to be close the day when Cooks got his deal.
Vet show on Wednesday July 25th. The question is how much does he hate training camp? Does he hate camp like O. Pace did and will he tell team he will sign once the hard part of camp is over, and wants to be free of playing in pre season games also?
The way he trains I say he gets that no problems

There is no real reason for him to be in early. Aaron Donald will always train hard. The deal dose need to be done before mid/preseason though, just to get the chemistry right.

 

[OldSchool]

Grudens thoughts on their situation relevant to AD..


View: https://twitter.com/pgutierrezespn/status/1020499505823830016?s=21

 

[kurtfaulk]

So can someone correct me? My understanding is that Mack is not only making more but can hold out longer than AD. Not sure where I read that and sorry if I'm short on details but I read a pretty detailed article that laid it all out. Bottom line was that AD literally cannot wait out Mack.

i think mack is making $13.5m this year. a pretty good amount if he can't get a deal done. ad is on $6.9m. he needs a deal now.

also the raiders don't have much more than him on d. the rams have other pieces on d that can cover for donald missing time. the raiders need mack on d otherwise they will suck much more than they do now. there's more chance the raiders offer more to keep him than the rams offer ad to keep him.

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[Mackeyser]

I wonder if we have reached another stage in the drama? When actual contract numbers get released, it's probably meant to pressure Donald and his agents into signing (good deal), which could make things nasty. I wonder if Darlington knows the numbers? I guess Donald is trying to outwait Khalil Mack's contract numbers? Just get it done, Aaron.

Pretty please, with sprinkles on top?

I know I'm repeating myself, but just this once.

AD cannot get better numbers than Mack on the contract.

The Raiders will have more cap space available to dedicate to that position AND they don't have as many star players they want/need to resign...AND Carr isn't on his rookie deal anymore, so their available money is what it is. Oh, and Mack was drafted ahead of AD and Mack also won the DPOY, so his case for more money is probably going to get more traction.

AD will rapidly be in the situation to get max money or play on a winner, but it won't be both.

He can ask Suh how it works to get max money for a loser. You don't see the entire deal and you get bounced out like someone in 2006 who took out a Million dollar mortgage when they barely earned minimum wage.

AD is too competitive to want to play for a loser again. He has to realize that he's playing a position that is very important, but it's not that far removed from Safety in how teams allocate their monies.

I want every player to get all they can while they can. That said, the smart long term move for AD is to take the big deal and just push hard on the guarantees.

Even after lawyer/agent fees and taxes, he's going to net more than $60M from any deal. If he's willing to have this play out and go for an extra few Million and not win, then I dunno what to say.

I still have very high hopes that he's in for TC because we need the DL to be clicking from the start of the season.

 

[dang]

I am completely biased but in comparing Mack's play and Donald's play - I believe Mack is an elite DE who has rapidly reached his peak where Donald is a game changing DT that has not yet reached his peak. If I am correct then there will be an ever increasing gap between Mack's play and Donald's play evidenced this year. I also think those that know better than I would make a much more substantiated/compelling comparison but are in general agreement.

 

[Mackeyser]

I don't disagree, dang.

It's just that there is a limit to contracts that aren't QBs.

Without limits, even HoF players at certain positions won't get paid see: Earl Thomas.