Aaron Donald’s contract situation

[Ram65]

It seemed that this started with Donald wanting 19-20 Million a year last season.

Probably went up this year to reports are Rams at 21 Million.

Donald at 25 Million more or less.

I think Demoff can make it work at 23 Million. I like 22 Million better. Of course these are guess or unproven estimates. Still a money agreement should get done.


Now, if its about the details like length, guarantees, outs for Donald etc...who knows if they can agree. They should be able to agree on the money. Both sides lose if it's not done before the season.

 

[Loyal]

JUST PAY THE MAN, YOU STUPID BASTIDS! *

*In reason and in compliance of responsible CAP management for the period of 6 years, or the End of AD's service with Los Angeles Rams Inc.

 

[Akrasian]

I realize he's a great player. While I would worry about the effects on the rest of the roster if they gave AD the rumored $21 million per season, there are reasons to go ahead with that, in terms of keeping a great player, negotiating in good faith with players, and pleasing the fan base by keeping a hall of famer for most or all of his career.

What bothers me,
1) are those who want him paid, without a real concern for the roster as a whole. "Pay the man", they say - but it's a salary capped league, and paying extra money to one player means there are fewer resources for elsewhere. Yes, with great drafting that can be overcome - but nobody hits on every draft pick. Not counting AD, there are 6 starters eligible for free agency, plus other positions - and while the Rams will get some comp picks, they don't have a 2nd. And while some players on the roster might fill in - that means depth has to be replaced, plus it's unlikely that a large number of 6th rounders hit in the time frame the Rams need.

2) also, those who argue that he is irreplaceable because he's on a serious HOF track. Yes, the Rams will never fully replace AD as a DT if he stays healthy. To that, I bring up JJ Watt. 80 games, 3 DPOY his first five seasons. 8 games, and really nothing vaguely special the last two seasons. So there is a real risk that at some point AD will not be AD. More importantly, while the Rams might not replace AD as AD - they may be able to replace his value to the team, depending on how wisely they spend the cap space and how wisely they use whatever they get back in a trade. It seems some people want to believe that the Rams FO are so good now that they will be able to fill holes that open because of cap restrictions, but that the Rams' FO is not good enough to get good value back from replacing AD. This is not the NBA, where the team that gets the best player in the trade wins. This is the NFL, with 22 starters plus a bunch of role players, where teams without depth rarely win it all. You need stars AND depth to succeed in the NFL.

 

[Loyal]

I realize he's a great player. While I would worry about the effects on the rest of the roster if they gave AD the rumored $21 million per season, there are reasons to go ahead with that, in terms of keeping a great player, negotiating in good faith with players, and pleasing the fan base by keeping a hall of famer for most or all of his career.

What bothers me,
1) are those who want him paid, without a real concern for the roster as a whole. "Pay the man", they say - but it's a salary capped league, and paying extra money to one player means there are fewer resources for elsewhere. Yes, with great drafting that can be overcome - but nobody hits on every draft pick. Not counting AD, there are 6 starters eligible for free agency, plus other positions - and while the Rams will get some comp picks, they don't have a 2nd. And while some players on the roster might fill in - that means depth has to be replaced, plus it's unlikely that a large number of 6th rounders hit in the time frame the Rams need.

2) also, those who argue that he is irreplaceable because he's on a serious HOF track. Yes, the Rams will never fully replace AD as a DT if he stays healthy. To that, I bring up JJ Watt. 80 games, 3 DPOY his first five seasons. 8 games, and really nothing vaguely special the last two seasons. So there is a real risk that at some point AD will not be AD. More importantly, while the Rams might not replace AD as AD - they may be able to replace his value to the team, depending on how wisely they spend the cap space and how wisely they use whatever they get back in a trade. It seems some people want to believe that the Rams FO are so good now that they will be able to fill holes that open because of cap restrictions, but that the Rams' FO is not good enough to get good value back from replacing AD. This is not the NBA, where the team that gets the best player in the trade wins. This is the NFL, with 22 starters plus a bunch of role players, where teams without depth rarely win it all. You need stars AND depth to succeed in the NFL.

I like what you said above, except that while it's a salary capped league, the CAP increases every year. My 2Cents.

 

[Jacobarch]

I'm not sure if he would be considered DT or DE, I just read an article saying that Wade is going to implement more of a 4-3 system this year so I think he would be playing more DT than DE. I know he flip flops a lot but he's still considered at DT as of now. Even if we do tender him the next two years after this season at DE it would be significantly cheaper than the contract he and his agent is chasing.

Yeah contracts have gone crazy for top end players, it sucks because it really hinders the chances of your team continuing to be a great team with high priced players such as QB or WR's. They are way overpaid IMO. Well most of those guys are but that's a different story.

 

[Jacobarch]

Oh I know that. I'm just saying you can't assign value based solely on who touches the ball. I mean how often do guys like Khalil Mack or Calais Campbell or Von Miller touch the ball? You also can't use that 'ball toucher' metric to validate guys like Bradford getting a $70M blind contract, or giving huge sums of money to guys like Brock Osweiller - simply because they play important positions. It's all about fit and core players you can build around.

I can agree with that. Well said!

 

[Mojo Ram]

One good sign here is that things have yet to get ugly, with both sides leaking info and posturing in the press. This means they might be close.

Have to think that if the Rams or AD are throwing in the towel things would be getting nasty by now.

I agree. Both sides have been relatively quiet. This bodes well IMO.

 

[dang]

If Donald holds out into the regular season his leverage will sway significantly with how the Rams perform. If the Rams come out of the gate and play well without Donald the motivation to negotiate up to Donald’s asking price diminishes. If the Rams struggle without Donald the motivation to negotiate up to his asking price increases. The Rams are all in this year and will probably adjust their offer based on how they perform without him.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Can anyone provide me with some examples of a team or teams under the current CBA that have been crippled by handing out too many fat contracts? Crippled as in having to let elite players walk in FA or get traded away for peanuts because they couldn't make it work?

 

[Mackeyser]

Question, and I don't know if it has been mentioned on this thread. Do you think AD or the Rams could be trying to wait it out to see what Khalil Mack inks for or vice-versa? It seems to be similar situations with both basically wanting to make QB money.

No, I personally don't.

If it wasn't clear before, it's certainly clear now that the Mack situation is gonna be protracted and ugly with Mack perhaps in the position of trying to force his way out of Oakland/Las Vegas.

And...I know, I know...repetition and all that... but AD and Mack are legitimately in different positions. The Raiders have the space or can make it to pay Mack $25M/yr. The Rams don't. The Rams have enough star talent that the FO is having to engage in Cap Wizardry to keep as much of this core together as long as possible.

And both having won the DPOY and Mack having been drafted higher, all of the usual metrics for contract determination favor Mack.

I think Donald is a better player, but he's not in a position to get a bigger contract and if he really holds out for that stupid big contract, he's gonna go through the EXACT same thing that Suh did.

I think Von Miller is the only DL defender who signed a big contract and isn't in danger of being shipped out.

Binary reality doesn't often present itself in life as just about everything is almost always more complicated than it appears. In this case, however, we have an exception.

AD can either play for a winner and what inherently comes with that is that the talent demands that the cap be spread.

OR...

AD can take a massive paycheck and the team will lack resources to pay other competent players to put around him and he'll be on a losing team.

Bottom line is that you can't be a $25M/YR DE in the NFL under this Cap and be on a winning team. Honestly, if it weren't for the bargaining and hits in FA that our FO has gotten, i'd say in a general sense, you can't do it with a $20M DE. We could never have afforded to assemble this talent at retail prices. Woods is a damned bargain as was Whitworth. And we really hit on some draft pieces, especially Cooper Kupp, Hav and JB and maybe Everett.

So AD can posture all he wants. This team went from mediocre to potential dynasty and he could be at the vanguard of that in one of the biggest media cities in the world. Or... he could make $26M/yr in Cleveland while they go 6-10 as some of that talent comes together.

It's not my choice to make, but we'll see what AD has in mind in the next week or so.

 

[Mackeyser]

There is no way AD forfeits another acrrued year toward FA. He WILL be signed by the August 7 deadline. If not, I will immediately purchase a donald jersey and eat it piece by piece. No sauce. No side dish. Nothing. As a matter of fact I won't consume any food until every stitch of that jersey has seen the inside of my stomach.

Once all the jersey reminants return to daylight, I will send them to his agent.

I definitely don't want to see THAT jersey burned... just sayin'

 

[Akrasian]

I like what you said above, except that while it's a salary capped league, the CAP increases every year. My 2Cents.

Absolutely the CAP increases. One of the things I like about Gurley's extension is that while he's guaranteed enough money that so long as he's not foolish his grandkids' education is paid for, the cap hit doesn't come for a couple of years when it'll be much more manageable.

I've said I'm okay with paying Donald $21 million per. With the way the cap has been increasing, that would drop below 10% of the cap in 2021. If the compromise many are suggesting of $23 million is the case, it would drop below 10% in 2023. If his demand is the rumored $25 million, then you're looking at 2025 - after the contract likely is over.

The Rams would be better off in 2018 by caving. But between his contract, and what caving would likely do to others' demands, they would be worse off in the long run. I don't want the Rams to only think about one season - I want them to build a team that contends every season. It's too easy for things to go wrong in any one season.

 

[ReekofRams]

A lot has to with the type of relationship he has with the Rams front office, but generally, I like Trumane, franchising someone does not make for a good relationship. So I'd be for trading him for more than just one first round pick.
But if we let him go after this season I'd want more than a complementary pick. I'd want a compensatory pick.:effemine:

 

[Akrasian]

Posters seemed to be acting like signing AD is the safe thing. I was pointing out that injuries happen. Putting your eggs into one basket means that an injury is more devastating. Ask the Texans - who aren't even paying Watt as much as Donald is reputedly offered, even adjusting for the cap rising.

I disagree this is not a building for the future league. Smart teams try to build for a longer window. If what you say is true, it would be common for teams to put all their cap space into one season, knowing that their team would be wrecked in other seasons. That is far from the norm.

And depth is not a binary thing. It's not that you have depth or don't have it. You can have better or lesser depth. You can have warm bodies, adequate players, areas where you don't skip a beat if there's an injury. Better teams have more than warm bodies. I would like the Rams to be able to consistently have a "next man up" level of depth. But that requires real resources to be put into it.

 

[majrleaged]

Still doesn't have the same impact as a QB WR or RB. Sorry but it's true. It's why they have designations for each position when it comes to FA.

I agree with your statement until you included WR and RB. Most teams can't win without a good QB, but you could argue, that the Pats have one without great receivers or RB. The Seahawks did it without top receivers and there are many other examples. So there is that. Now you really can't compare what the defense does to what the offense does. It is said by most that defense wins Championships. Most defensive players don't touch the ball. That criteria just doesn't work in football. The fact is he makes offenses change what they do to try and limit his affect on the game which makes other players better. He is worth it.

 

[OldSchool]

Posters seemed to be acting like signing AD is the safe thing. I was pointing out that injuries happen.

They happen though with every player at every position. Worrying about injuries prior to signing somebody makes no sense. If a player has a history of bad injuries sure weigh that but for a guy that's been healthy to worry about signing them just in case they get injured I just don't see the logic in it.

 

[Akrasian]

They happen though with every player at every position. Worrying about injuries prior to signing somebody makes no sense. If a player has a history of bad injuries sure weigh that but for a guy that's been healthy to worry about signing them just in case they get injured I just don't see the logic in it.

The more resources you put into a player, the more devastating an injury is. If you have 13% or more of the cap tied up into one player, that can be crippling. If you instead use your resources to have a deeper team, injuries are nowhere near as bad.