After 10 incredible seasons, Aaron Donald is hanging up his cleats and heading toward retirement. The Los Angeles Rams legend had reportedly toyed with stepping away from football for several years and made it official that he was done two months after the Rams season ended.
Rams head coach Sean McVay told Sports Illustrated Donald simply said “I'm full” the day after LA's playoff loss in January, a hint that he was going to retire. In a video posted on his X account, Donald used the same verbiage and elaborated on his decision to leave the NFL.
“I'm complete, I'm full. I think the passion to play the game is no longer there for me,” Donald said, per NFL Network's Kevin Patra. “I will always love football, but to think about going through another camp and another 17 [game] season, I just don't got the urge to want to push myself to do that no more. I'm just, I'm burnt out, if anything, the best way to say it is that I'm full, I'm complete. I'm satisfied with what I was able to do in 10 years, and I think it's time for me to, at 32 years old, retire from football and jump into the next step in my career, my life, and now it's time to move on.”
Donald posted the snippet with the caption “coming soon” though did not specify when the full video will be released. He announced his retirement via social media on March 15.
Playing in the NFL takes both a physical and mental toll on a person's body, perhaps moreso than any other sport. It's so important for athletes to listen to their bodies and understand when it's time to walk away. In that sense, the timing of Donald's retirment is admirable.
Aaron Donald going out on his terms
It's hard to fathom how many athletes, especially football players, are forced to retire from their sport due to injury. Though there are other factors besides injury, the average NFL career lasts just over three years.
For a player to stay relatively healthy and play a decade in the NFL is remarkable. That's what Donald accomplished, among his many other awards and accolades. Not only was he as dominant a defensive player as the NFL has ever seen, he did it consistently.
In his 10 seasons with the Rams, Donald missed only nine games. He played at least 16 games in a season eight times and started 150 straight games he was in uniform after coming off the bench in his first four NFL games.
Donald is one of three players in the NFL to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards, joining Lawrence Taylor and JJ Watt. He and Watt did it in the span of four seasons.
It's rare for athletes to retire when they are still playing at an elite level. This NFL offseason has already seen two surefire Hall of Fame players retire while still being among the best at their position, with Donald joining Jason Kelce on that front.
Two legendary players who went directly to battle several times over the course of their careers will likely enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the same year. Regardless, Aaron Donald has etched his name in NFL history forever and is set to embark on the next chapter of his life.
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