Aaron Donald officially made his return to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week. But how did a team with so many expensive contracts fit Donald under the salary cap?
According to famed sports agent Leigh Steinberg, it’s because the Rams do a great job with “caponomics.”
The Rams did it by “creating cap room, redoing someone else’s contract so that there’s less salary involved and by giving that player a bonus,” Steinberg told OutKick in a recent interview. “If a team is creative, they can move other contracts around and create cap space.”
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Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald plays against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Nov. 26, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
After falling short against their NFC West rival, the Seattle Seahawks, in the NFC Championship Game last season, the Rams went on a spending spree this offseason.
They gave MVP-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford a one-year, $55 million contract extension, traded for Kansas City Chiefs star cornerback Trent McDuffie and signed him to a four-year, $124 million contract extension, signed cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million contract, and acquired Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett before signing him to a five-year, $208 million contract after redoing his deal following the trade.
Despite handing out all of those massive deals, the Rams were still able to sign Donald to a one-year, $20 million deal, despite being up against the salary cap.
So how, exactly, are the Rams making it work? Exactly as Steinberg said: by being creative.
For Stafford’s deal, the Rams have pushed his contract further into the future, spreading out the cap hit using void years, meaning Stafford’s contract will count against the salary cap in even though he won’t be on the team. Stafford’s contract is spread out through the 2031 season.
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Aaron Donald No. 99 of the Los Angeles Rams hugs head coach Sean McVay prior to a game against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Ford Field on Jan. 14, 2024, in Detroit, Mich. (Getty Images)
As for McDuffie, the Rams backloaded his contract. This season, McDuffie’s cap hit is just $10.8 million, but that rises to $30.8 million next season and will hover around that figure for ensuing three seasons.
Garrett’s contract is structured similarly to both Stafford’s and McDuffie’s, with a lower cap hit in the first year and larger hits later in the deal while also using void years. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s contract runs through 2030, but his cap hits are spread through 2034.
Here are his cap hits each year through 2034: $8.4 million, $15 million, $27.57 million, $39.875 million, $48.17 million, $17.523 million, $11.5 million, $7.6 million and finally $3.3 million.
To fit Aaron Donald into their group of superstars, the Rams have pushed a lot of money into the future to make it work in the present.
Steinberg thinks the decision to acquire Garrett and bring Donald out of retirement will be well worth it.
“So let’s imagine that you took a team that was already the favorite to win the Super Bowl because of their (trade) of the best defensive player in football, Myles Garrett. And you now add to him an unbelievably dominant defensive player in Aaron Donald,” Steinberg said.
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Myles Garrett of the Los Angeles Rams poses with his jersey during a press conference after an organized team activities workout at Rams Village at the Warner Center in Woodland Hills, California, on June 2, 2026. (Kevin Terrell/Getty Images)
“It creates an impregnable line that’s impossible to double team. The synergistic effect of this is that an opposing offense can’t double team both Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett. So somewhere in there you’re going to have this spectacularly dominant player on the loose.”
Steinberg is also certain that Donald, who made the Pro Bowl in each of his 10 seasons in the NFL, would not have returned unless he felt he could play at an elite level.
“I am sure that Aaron Donald would not have come back except that he thought he could be dominant once again,” Steinberg said. “I’m assuming that time takes its toll. Being outside of football takes its toll, but it won’t take too long for Aaron Donald to be back in form. No other team has two players like this backed up by another three.”
In addition to having Donald and Garrett, the Rams’ defensive line was already strong with Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Byron Young and Poona Ford. Steinberg said the Rams’ defensive line could be one of the best of all time, comparing it to the legendary line the Baltimore Colts had in the 1960s.
“I think the only thing that would be equivalent was the Fearsome Foursome that had Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones and Rosie Greer. The Fearsome Foursome is back and as you said, they’ve got Poona Ford and Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske and Byron Young and they’re loaded with gifted players,” Steinberg said.
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Leigh Steinberg attends the 39th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party at Storek on Feb. 7, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
“The Rams do a better job of scouting players, drafting players, and then finding that one superstar that can be plugged into an already dominating defense or offense.”
A front comparable to the Fearsome Foursome of Olsen, Jones, Greer and Lamar Lundy would give the Rams an excellent chance of getting to the Super Bowl and winning it all.
Steinberg, who was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, has had many high-profile clients. Across football and baseball, Steinberg’s clients include Steve Bartkowski, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Kordell Stewart, Jeff George, Ben Roethlisberger, Myron Rolle, Matt Leinart, Mark Brunell, Ricky Williams, Howie Long, Eric Karros and Dusty Baker, among others.
Steinberg was not surprised that Donald came out of retirement because so many of his clients wanted to as well.
“I had 64 first-round draft picks, 12 of the players in the Hall of Fame, and when they retired, they did it with class and dignity. But then a couple weeks later, the phone would ring and the player would say, ‘Do you think there’s any spot for me? Do you think I can come back?’” Steinberg said.
The legendary agent said these were players who had peaceful second careers lined up and had all the money they would need, but that they simply missed the game.
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Leigh Steinberg speaks onstage during the 39th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party at Storek on Feb. 7, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
“They all want to play and when they’re away from the game, players miss the structure, the fact that it gives them an itinerary that tells them what they’re supposed to be doing every day, what they’re supposed to be doing at this time of year. They have structure. They miss the camaraderie in the locker room with the band of brothers that are around them,” Steinberg said.
“They miss the electric excitement of performing in front of packed crowds and or many of them from Pop Warner on this is all they’ve known and so, like the moth to the flame, professional sports is so intoxicating that players never really want to retire.”
The Rams are certainly fortunate that Donald wanted to come back and play. The result could end with him holding another Lombardi Trophy.
