There’s not a lot of debate that Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in the NFL, but could the Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle retire after eight seasons in the league?
Multiple outlets reported Tuesday that Donald was on a podcast called “I Am Athlete” with former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Adam “Pacman” Jones and LeSean McCoy and said he would be “at peace” with retiring if he and the Rams don’t come to an agreement on a new contract this offseason.
Donald is under contract through the 2024 season.
“For me, it’s about winning. I don’t want to play football if I can’t win anyway, so I feel like ... if I got a real opportunity to win another Super Bowl, then it makes sense to play,” Donald said, according to ESPN.
“But again, it’s still a business. We’ve got to handle the business side of things, and if that wasn’t to get handled then, you know, it is what it is type of situation. I’ll be fine regardless.”
Donald did say it’s long been his plan to play in the NFL for eight years, although he said winning the Super Bowl earlier this year drives him to want to do it again.
“I want to feel that again,” he said. “I ain’t going to lie, that experience is like none other. If I was to play, it’s just to win another Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, it’s still a business and it got to make sense to me and my family.”