Rams agree to six-year, $135M deal with Donald

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams on Friday agreed to terms on a contract extension for star defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the team confirmed.

Contract terms were not disclosed, but Donald will be the NFL’s highestpaid defensive player after agreeing to a six-year, $135 million contract, according to NFL.com. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, $87 million of the deal is guaranteed.

The agreement ends more than a year of tension between Donald, the NFL’s reigning defensive player of the year, and the Rams, who selected him with the 13th pick in the 2014 draft.

Donald was seeking an extension that would not only make him the league’s highest-paid defensive player, but also would put him in the company of some of the best-compensated players at any position.

Donald’s deal eclipses the six-year, $103 million contract — with $63 million guaranteed — that defensive tackle Fletcher Cox signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016. New Rams teammate Ndamukong Suh signed a six-year, $114 million deal with the Miami Dolphins in 2015, but only $60 million was guaranteed.

Donald, a Pro Bowl selection in each of his four NFL seasons, earned only $1.8 million last season. He was due to earn about $6.9 million this season in the fifth and final year of his rookie deal.

Donald, 27, is part of a remade defense that now includes Suh, who signed as a free agent, and star cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, who were acquired in trades.