Aaron Donald didn’t take a snap in the Rams’ Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but the back injury that kept him out didn’t stop the money from coming in.
According to Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer, Donald’s contract is built with an unusual wrinkle that allowed him to collect his weekly bonus anyway. In a typical NFL deal, per-game roster bonuses depend on a player being active for game day. If he’s inactive, the money disappears with that week.
Donald’s setup works differently. His contract is worth up to $30 million and includes a $10 million base salary plus another $10 million in per-game roster bonuses. But instead of needing to dress on game day, he earns those checks by staying on the 53-man active roster.
That meant Los Angeles could keep him on the roster rather than moving him to injured reserve, and Donald still picked up his full $666,667 for the week despite not suiting up against Philadelphia.
The structure gives both sides something useful. The Rams get protection if Donald suffers a major injury, while Donald keeps his financial security if he’s dealing with a shorter-term issue like the back problem that sidelined him Sunday.
Through two appearances in this comeback season, the future Hall of Famer has managed just one solo tackle and no sacks. Even so, the Rams were still without his disruptive force in a 2-2 start, and his absence was felt in Philadelphia.
For now, though, the arrangement is doing exactly what it was designed to do: keep Donald paid while the Rams wait for him to get healthy, and keep those weekly checks rolling even when he’s not on the field.
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