Rams' Aaron Donald Retires After 10 NFL Seasons; Won Super Bowl 56, 3 DPOY Awards

Aaron Donald has announced his retirement from football after 10 NFL seasons, leaving the game despite still being one of the most dominant players in the sport.

Donald had been flirting with retirement for two years. He first hinted his time remaining in the sport was limited during last season's Super Bowl LVI run, taking months to contemplate whether he would return in 2022.

Donald went as far as to send the Rams a retirement letter during the offseason, though it was never submitted to the league. The team and Donald then agreed to a restructured contract that made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history on an annual basis.

After being limited to 11 games in 2022, Donald was able to make 16 appearances in 2023 as the Rams returned to the postseason.

The 32-year-old finished with 53 tackles and eight sacks as he was named first-team All-Pro.

Donald finishes his career with 111 career sacks, one of just two defensive tackles in NFL history to hit the century mark. He also won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and eight first-team All-Pro selections during his Hall of Fame-worthy career.

He will go down on the shortlist of greatest players of all time also to walk away well before their prime ended, joining names like Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.