If there is one upside to Aaron Donald retiring, it is that the Rams do not (really) have to pay him anymore. The team is left with cap hits in 2024 and 2025, but the player who got more cash from the Rams than any other player in history — over $50 million. more than second-place Matthew Stafford — will not collect anymore checks from the team unless he returns.
According to OvertheCap’s historical team spending records, the Rams top-5 players in terms of flat out cash spending are:
- DT Aaron Donald, $162,028,500
- QB Matt Stafford, $109,000,000
- DE Chris Long, $84,690,000
- QB Jared Goff, $83,220,672
- WR Cooper Kupp, $73,503,924
I’m sure what stands out to most of you is the fact that Chris Long is third all-time, but he was able to take advantage of the NFL’s broken rookie payment system at the time, signing a five-year, $48 million deal in 2008 before he ever played a down in the league.