LOS ANGELES _ The 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 highest-paid 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 contract.
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.
The Rams gave him the new deal after they signed receiver Brandin Cooks to a five-year, $81 million extension, running back Todd Gurley to a four-year, $60 million extension and offensive lineman Rob Havenstein to a $32.5 million extension.
Coach Sean McVay said in the final week of the preseason that the Rams were close to reaching an agreement with Donald. He reiterated that after the last preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
Donald did not participate in the Rams' voluntary offseason workout program in Thousand Oaks, training instead in his hometown, Pittsburgh.
McVay said Donald's absence at the start of the program was not unexpected. He said throughout the first weeks that the Rams were in communication with Donald's representatives and hoped there would be a solution.
Asked a few weeks into camp if the Donald situation kept him up at night, McVay joked he had nightmares about it.
"Let's put it this way," he said. "I'll sleep a lot better if we get that thing taken care of."
Before the Rams' first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, general manager Les Snead said the team and Donald's representatives were, "in the same ZIP Code, area code, ballpark," in their negotiations.
McVay said a few days after the game that there was "increased dialogue" between the parties.
Last year, Donald did not participate in organized-team activities, minicamps or training camp because he wanted a new contract. He reported on the eve of the season opener, but did not suit up until Week 2.
The 6-foot-1, 285-pound Donald has amassed 39 sacks, including 11 last season as the Rams won the NFC West and made the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Throughout _ and after _ the 2017 season, Donald said he was leaving his contract situation in the hands of his CAA agents.
"I got a good team of great agents that I know they're going to handle the business side _ and I trust them, Donald said in February after he became the first defensive tackle since Hall of Famer Warren Sapp to win the defensive player of the year award. "All I can do is play football, put it on film (and) when it happens it happens."
The Rams met with Donald's representatives during the NFL scouting combine, and general manager Les Snead had said there was a timeline in place for more meetings. Snead, however, did not reveal specifics.
"The goal is still the same," Snead said, "Make Aaron Donald a Ram for a long, long time."
On the first day of voluntary offseason workouts during spring, defense lineman Michael Brockers said Donald's absence was not a distraction.
"We've dealt with it before," Brockers said, "and we also know that it's a business."
McVay said at the time that negotiations with Donald's representatives were ongoing.
"We're proactively continuing to work towards solutions," McVay said. "We've got meetings and things like that set up and we're hopeful that that will eventually come."
That day finally arrived.
Donald's extension is one of several the Rams anticipate will be in play in the next few years.
Peters, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, is in the fourth year of his contract.
Also coming down the line will be quarterback Jared Goff, who is in the third year of his contract. Goff has a base salary of about $3 million and a salary-cap number of $7.6 million.
