[Elvis]

[Elvis]

[RAMMAN76]

Very shocked and after a supposed restructured contract.

I am glad to have watched one of the greatest DL in the game and a legendary Ram play.

Beer's to you AD!

[Horny Mcbae]

We love you Aaron Donald

Thank you thank you thank you.

[Rams1PlateSince1976]

A few ideas:
- Knowing that there is always somebody who doesn't get the word Rams should call around and see what they could get in a trade.
- If that doesn't work start a rumor that he Donald might change his mind and un-retire like #$&@$&# brady. Then see what could get in a trade!
- Try trading him to a CFL team! They are in a different time zone and speak a different language! Isn't that how we got Dieter Brock?

[69RamFan]

It wouldn't surprise me,

If we have a great 2024 season.

and during the playoffs,

AD pulls off an Eric Weddle Moment.

and he comes back for another SB ring!!!!

[69RamFan]

From former O-Linemen.

[Elvis]

[Elvis]

The Salary Cap Impact of Aaron Donald’s Retirement

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Jason Fitzgerald

The football world was shocked today when future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald decided to retire from the NFL after 10 seasons. His legendary career featured 8 All Pro nods and 10 selections to the Pro Bowl. Donald also set multiple contract standards for the interior defensive line, becoming the first defensive tackle in NFL history to earn over $20 million a year in 2018 and then the first defensive player to get over $30 million a year in 2022. Now that he is leaving the Rams it does leave some questions as to how his contract will play out for the team.

Prior to the news of his retirement, I had mentioned that Donald recently had his contract restructured to free up around $9.2 million in cap room for the team. Per a source with knowledge of the contract this was not a typical restructure where salary was just converted to a signing bonus. In this case the Rams converted his $5 million roster bonus, which was already guaranteed, to a signing bonus. They took $8.79 million of his salary, which was going to become guaranteed in a few days, and added it to his $20 million option bonus. The option for Donald was originally due by mid June, I would guess, but do not know for certain, that date remains.

The restructured contract, in light of Donald’s retirement, reads a bit more like salary cap maneuvering by the Rams to keep the door open to Donald possibly coming back to the team. If both sides were 100% on the retirement they would have simply bought his salary this year down to $1.21 million and taken out the option and roster bonuses, unless the Rams were just totally blindsided with the retirement announcement and had no idea this was coming. So my guess is they want to leave the door wide open for him to come back.

The $5 million bonus may or may not be his to keep. Under the terms of his prior contract the Rams apparently did not have the right to go after his roster bonus if Donald breached his contract, such as by retiring. The signing bonus language could be different giving the Rams the ability to simply recover anything had any money exchanged hand. Or it could be a nice parting gift for all his years of service. The option bonus is a clear deferral of salary.

By doing the restructure, the Rams brought Donald’s salary cap number down to $24.97 million. Placing Donald on the retirement list would have caused the Rams to take on a $28.5 million cap charge at a minimum so this gives the Rams a little more room to work with. By deferring his salary into the option it also gives the Rams a chance to keep Donald on the roster through June, if they want, and place him on the retired list at that point. It also gives Donald months to consider if he wants to return since the contract is simply waiting for him if he returns to the NFL this year or any year in the future.

If the team waits until June they should be able to split the salary cap charges across two years, though the cap charges are contingent on the way his signing bonus works. If the signing bonus is a legit bonus then the money should count towards dead money in 2024 and 2025. If it is earned but no money ever changes hands prior to the retirement the NFL will likely just disregard the bonus. If there is money paid and the team is later paid back the Rams will take a charge in 2024 with an offsetting credit coming in 2025.

The accounting of the option is also a bit tricky. In my experience the NFL will typically include the option prorations as dead money in the year the player is released even if the option is not exercised. The team then receives a credit the following year.

Here is how I believe the cap charges would play out in a June 1 retirement scenario (credit is the adjustment the Rams would receive for cap charges in 2024 not actually earned so it reduces the impact of the dead money in 2025).

Scenario 2024 2025 2025 credit
Keeps Bonus $23,763,332 $19,333,334 $9,596,666
Bonus unpaid $22,096,666 $16,000,000 $9,596,666
Bonus recovered $23,763,332 $16,000,000 $11,263,332

I would expect the Rams to carry Donald on the roster through whatever the option date may be and then place him on the retired list. It should be easier for them from a salary cap perspective than just putting him on the list right now.

The Rams and Donald could also restructure his contract one final time to remove some of the charges that I am mentioning here. If the retirement is firm it would make sense for the Rams to simply remove the option from the contract in which case you do not get into these issues with treatment of option prorations in 2024. That would reduce the 2024 charges to $14.166M with 2025 looking similar to the chart above.

Ultimately I would not be surprised if the Rams are not done tinkering with the contract, either as a way to entice him to play again in 2024 or to make things a little simpler with the salary cap. I would be surprised if they do immediately place him on the reserve list and absorb all of the cap charges this season.

[69RamFan]

It wouldn't surprise me,

If we have a great 2024 season.

and during the playoffs,

AD pulls off an Eric Weddle Moment.

and he comes back for another SB ring!!!!

How does Aaron Donald’s retirement impact salary cap? Rams leave door open for return.
SB Nation
Story by Blaine Grisak

The outlook for the Los Angeles Rams offseason took a completely different turn on Friday when Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL. With Donald retiring, one of the biggest questions has been how it will impact the Rams salary cap. Prior to Donald’s announcement, it was reported that the team restructured his deal, opening up $9.2M in cap space. With that said, the restructure and retirement also has other implications.

Jason Fitzgerald from OverTheCap did a fantastic job breaking down Donald’s contract and how his retirement impacts the Rams salary cap. Here is what Fitzgerald had to say,

“Per a source with knowledge of the contract this was not a typical restructure where salary was just converted to a signing bonus. In this case the Rams converted his $5 million roster bonus, which was already guaranteed, to a signing bonus. They took $8.79 million of his salary, which was going to become guaranteed in a few days, and added it to his $20 million option bonus...The restructured contract, in light of Donald’s retirement, reads a bit more like salary cap maneuvering by the Rams to keep the door open to Donald possibly coming back to the team. If both sides were 100% on the retirement they would have simply bought his salary this year down to $1.21 million and taken out the option and roster bonuse. My guess is they want to leave the door wide open for him to come back. By doing the restructure, the Rams brought Donald’s salary cap number down to $24.97 million. Placing Donald on the retirement list would have caused the Rams to take on a $28.5 million cap charge at a minimum so this gives the Rams a little more room to work with.”

Even though Donald is retired, that doesn’t put the Rams off the hook from paying him, opening up $30M in cap space. His contract is still on the books and the Rams still have to pay Donald what he is owed. However, they can structure things in a way that works for both sides and maximizes their available cap space.

With how Fitzgerald describes it, the Rams are leaving the option for Donald to return in the case that he does end up changing his mind. While unexpected, it is possible and not totally out of the realm of possibility. We’ve seen the play out recently with players like Tom Brady who retired and then un-retired. There are also things that the Rams can do with some of the bonuses and options in the contract that they can restructure.

Said Fitzgerald,

“By deferring his salary into the option it also gives the Rams a chance to keep Donald on the roster through June, if they want, and place him on the retired list at that point. It also gives Donald months to consider if he wants to return since the contract is simply waiting for him if he returns to the NFL this year or any year in the future. If the team waits until June they should be able to split the salary cap charges across two years, though the cap charges are contingent on the way his signing bonus works. If the signing bonus is a legit bonus then the money should count towards dead money in 2024 and 2025. If it is earned but no money ever changes hands prior to the retirement the NFL will likely just disregard the bonus. If there is money paid and the team is later paid back the Rams will take a charge in 2024 with an offsetting credit coming in 2025.”

Reading Fitzgerald’s full explanation of Donald’s contract and the retirement implications is certainly worth checking out as there are several dead money scenarios depending on what the Rams decide to do. There’s a scenario in which the Rams could also restructure the contract once again to remove some of the option bonuses.

Again, Donald’s retirement doesn’t necessarily help the Rams from a salary cap perspective as they still have to pay out his contract. They can do minor things with some of the bonuses and options that will give them a little more room to work with. As it stands, the Rams opened up $9.2M with Friday’s restructure which could help bring in another low-value free agent.