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The argument for Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald as the greatest defensive player of all-time reached new heights on Sunday after his world-class performance in Super Bowl LVI. Donald was a force to be reckoned with against the Bengals' offensive line, managing to get past double and even triple coverages on his way to pressuring Joe Burrow.
Rumors emerged ahead of the Super Bowl that Donald was considering retirement if the Rams won. The rumors were shocking to most, considering Donald is quite clearly in the peak of his career and doesn't seem to be even close to slowing down. The 30-year-old defensive lineman has a remarkably impressive career resumé, which could be further added to with a few more years in the league. If he truly wants to be the undisputed greatest of all time on defense, Donald should keep playing.
But perhaps that title isn't that important to AD. His emotions after the Super Bowl win were truly telling. He looked like an individual who had finally achieved everything he'd ever set out for, and that's probably how he felt. Donald had already taken home just about every other accolade possible in the NFL, but a Super Bowl ring had evaded him throughout his first seven years in the league.
Now that he's accomplished his ultimate goal, Donald has nothing left to achieve in football. At this point, any other accomplishment would likely be secondary to what he's done throughout his first eight years in the league. With that in mind, Donald should retire on top after a legendary career as one of football's greatest ever talents, and here are two reasons why.
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2 reasons Aaron Donald should retire on top after Super Bowl win
2. Donald is rich and still healthy
While watching Aaron Donald play out the remainder of his NFL career would be fantastic for football fans, the 30-year-old would be putting himself in harm's way week in and week out purely for the fans' entertainment. Donald has had a remarkably healthy career in the NFL, and now that he's achieved his ultimate goal, he should be extremely careful when considering his long-term health. CTE is a very real threat for any NFL player, and Donald could opt to avoid risking it and sail off into retirement as a healthy, wealthy Super Bowl champion.
Donald has made around $97 million throughout his career thus far, according to Spotrac. He's due to make a bit more than $50 million over the next three seasons, should he decide to continue his career, as he's under contract with the Rams through the 2024 season. Donald earned $19.9 million in 2021 after his First-Team All-Pro bonus kicked in, but would be making just $14.25 million in 2022 under his current deal. After the season he just turned in, Donald would enter 2022 making less money than he did this year, something he may not be so keen on.
1. He's accomplished virtually everything there is to achieve in the NFL
What is there really left for Aaron Donald to accomplish? Of course, the prospect of winning more rings would be enough to fuel many players to keep their career alive, but if Donald is truly considering retirement after the Super Bowl, which reports indicate he is, then he likely feels that a Lombardi Trophy was the missing piece to his legacy. The emotion on Donald's face after winning his first ring was surreal, as he couldn't hide his joy with the tears streaming down his face. After refusing to answer a question about his future, Donald left the door open to walking away from football after the win.
Donald is a seven-time All-Pro, eight-time Pro Bowler, four-time Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the 2010 All-Decade Team, and as of Sunday, is officially a Super Bowl champion. He would be a consensus first-ballot Hall of Famer if he decided to retire tomorrow, as he has nothing left to prove. It's hard to imagine the Rams star improving on the work he's done over the past eight years, as he's left scarcely any room for improvement.
Donald is said to be “big on legacy,” according to Rodney Harrison, who first reported inklings of AD's potential retirement on NBC before the Super Bowl. Retiring after the Super Bowl win would certainly be the fairytale ending to a legendary career. If Donald wants to go out on his own terms, there is truly no better time to call it quits than after the Rams' Super Bowl victory.
