Aaron Donald is reputed to be one of the most feared players in the National Football League. According to his colleague, Russell Wilson, Donald is the best defensive player he has ever played against, he described him as having a very strong ability to create pressure on the field. Little wonder why Pro Football Focus named him as the NFL’s best pass rusher and their No. 1 player in 2017. The defensive end played for the University of Pittsburgh before he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 NFL Draft. Find out more about him below.
Aaron Donald’s Bio
The player whose middle name is Charles was born on May 23, 1991, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His journey to becoming a football player started from when he was a child. Then, he played the sport with his peers for fun but on getting to Penn Hills High School, he took football more seriously, joining the school’s football team under coach Andrew Slome.
Aaron made it to the first team All-State Class AAAA in his junior and senior years and recorded 63 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks as a senior.
At the end of high school, Rivals.com projected him to be a three-star prospect and also rated him as the 37th best defensive tackle in the nation. He received scholarship offers from four universities but choose to play for his hometown school, Pittsburgh.
During his freshman year, he played 13 games as a reserve defensive end. The following year, he moved into the starting lineup and was named a second-team All-Big East selection. His junior season was very productive as he won first-team All-Big East honors and by his senior year, Aaron Donald was a force to reckon with, becoming one of the most productive defensive players in the NCAA. He eventually won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous All-American.
Ready to become a professional player, Aaron attended the 2014 NFL Combine and wowed everyone with his performance. He broke Tank Johnson’s record for fastest 40-yard dash time for a defensive tackle and was later selected in the first round of that year’s NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams with the 13th overall pick.
The Rams subsequently signed him to a fully guaranteed four-year rookie deal worth $10.13 million.
What Is His Salary
In his over five seasons of playing in the NFL, Donald has made a career earning of $51.09. He made $3.23M in 2017 but his $8.89 million cap hit for 2018 which ranks 6th on the Los Angeles Rams’ active roster, has placed him very highly in the NFL.
In August 2018, the Rams announced a lucrative extension for Aaron Donald, a six-year, $135 million contracts, including a $40,000,000 signing bonus, $86,892,000 guaranteed, and an average yearly salary of $22.5 million which overshadows the $19.1 million average that Von Miller made from the Broncos in 2016.
This current salary makes Donald not just the highest-paid defensive player ever but also puts him in the grade that only elite quarterbacks have gotten to. He is now the 10th highest-paid player in the NFL salary-wise, behind nine quarterbacks.
In 2018, Aaron Donald’s base salary was $892,000 while his signing bonus was $40 million. He’ also had a cap hit of $8,892,000 and a dead cap hit of $50 million.
