Aaron Donald becomes richest defender in NFL history after record-breaking deal

NFL: NFL Honors-Red Carpet

It’s no secret that Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is the most dominant/best current defender in the NFL.

And now he’s being paid like it.

Donald was rewarded with a new deal on Friday, and he became the first non-quarterback in NFL history to receive more than $20 million/year.

Goff appeared to be excited about the news, as was Donald, who was seen signing the contract at Rams HQ. Here’s how we know it’s official.

Here he is showing up to training camp, dapping up Ndamukong Suh.

That’s an insane amount of money, and it makes things different for the Rams going forward, so they’ll clearly be “all in” on winning the Super Bowl this season. Having a quarterback (Goff) on a rookie deal certainly helps matters, but it’ll get complicated for the Rams in future years, as far as team building is concerned.

But if the Rams didn’t pay Donald, not only would he have set, but someone else would have. Same goes for Khalil Mack, who is probably thrilled at how much money Donald made, because he’ll ask for the same amount.

Both Donald and Mack are huge winners here.

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