Background and career
Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He is considered one of the greatest defensive players of all time.
Donald played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, winning the Bronko Nagurski, Outland, and Bill Willis trophies and the Chuck Bednarik and Lombardi awards in 2013. Selected by the Rams in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, Donald spent his first 10 seasons with the franchise before retiring in 2023, but returned in 2026. He has been named Defensive Player of the Year a record three times, along with receiving Pro Bowl selections in all 10 of his seasons and eight first-team All-Pro honors. Donald was also a member of the Rams team that won Super Bowl LVI. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2026.
Aaron Charles Donald was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 23, 1991. He grew up as one of three children in a working-class family in the city's Lincoln–Lemington–Belmar neighborhood; Donald later admitted that he was "lazy as a kid." Seeking to provide a sense of structure in his son's life, Donald's father introduced him to workouts, and they would wake up at 4:30 a.m. and work out for nearly two hours in the gym that his father installed in their basement by the time Donald was 12.
Donald attended Penn Hills High School, where he played high school football for head coach Ron Graham. Donald was a first-team All-State Class AAAA selection in each of his final two seasons, and compiled 63 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks as a senior. Donald also started at offensive guard.
Considered a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, Donald was rated as the 37th best defensive tackle in the nation. He committed to hometown Pittsburgh over other scholarship offers from Toledo, Akron, and Rutgers.
How Aaron Donald makes money
On June 16, 2014, the Rams signed him to a four-year, fully guaranteed $10.14 million rookie contract with a $5.69 million signing bonus and a fifth-year option. Donald accumulated about $1.4 million in fines due to his non-participation, and each game that he missed cost him one game check from his base salary of $1.8 million.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
