The Los Angeles Rams almost lost their best player this offseason as Aaron Donald seriously contemplated retirement. In fact, as Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday, the defensive star literally had a secret letter written that was supposed to be sent to Roger Goodell and the NFL:

“The agent for the greatest defensive tackle to ever play sent a letter to the only team Donald's played for, the Rams, and informed them of his decision to retire, according to several sources informed of the situation.”

“The letter, which has been an unreported secret since it was sent, was on Athletes First letterhead and addressed to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Simply, it stated that Aaron Donald had informed the Rams he was retiring effective on May 9. It came with instructions to send it into the league office.”

“But the letter was never sent to the NFL.”

This is absolutely wild. Donald was truly that close to calling it a day. The Rams were already informed as of May 9th. What changed his mind, you ask? As Rapoport noted, Donald actually had a Zoom meeting set up with Los Angeles to discuss his contract. His camp was looking for a significant pay raise with three years left on his $136 million deal. They wanted more than the $8 million Tom Brady got in 2019.

But then more and more meetings came about between the Rams and Aaron Donald. He had nothing left to prove in the NFL, but they weren't ready to lose one of the best defensive players to ever step on the field. As of June 6th, he got his wish. A $40 million increase across the final three years of his contract.

Absolutely wild. LA came up with the money and Donald decided to run it back. Now, he'll be on the field on Thursday as Sean McVay's group makes another run at a Super Bowl, and Rams fans couldn't be happier.