Rams COO Kevin Demoff: 'We just don't agree' on Aaron Donald's value
Cameron DaSilva
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
The Los Angeles Rams and Aaron Donald have been discussing a long-term extension for more than a year now, and despite the lengthy and ongoing negotiations, the two sides can’t seem to come close to an agreement. With Week 1 rapidly approaching and Aaron Donald still not in Los Angeles, it’s almost inevitable that his holdout will continue for the foreseeable future.
Through all of this, the Rams have played it very close to the chest. Sean McVay gets asked about updates on Donald’s situation daily after practice and Les Snead has addressed it ad nauseam since the holdout began. Yet, no one discussing the topic seems to be giving any meaningful answers.
On Wednesday, Rams COO Kevin Demoff, who’s at the center of the negotiations, shared his thoughts on the situation Wednesday. Surprisingly, it’s the most honest update we’ve gotten thus far. Demoff joined Mighty 1090AM in San Diego – the Rams’ newest radio partner – to explain that the two sides simply don’t agree on Donald’s value.
“I don’t think they’re unrealistic,” Demoff said of Donald’s representatives. “I think they see their client at a certain point that they value at, we see it at a different point. To me, that doesn’t mean one side is right or wrong. I think that’s the worst thing you can say in negotiations. We don’t agree, but that doesn’t make us right and them wrong. It doesn’t make them right and us wrong. We just don’t agree. And hopefully we can find that magic bullet to go get there and agre
Demoff said “it is truly a spirited conversation” and one that he thinks will “ultimately wind up in a productive place.” Where exactly that “productive place” is has yet to be determined, but there’s no question about what Donald wants out of this. He wants to be paid what he deserves, which is the highest-paid defender in the NFL.
As someone who won Defensive Player of the Year in just 14 games with no preseason or training camp under his belt last season, he’s clearly established himself as a premier player in the NFL today. Put simply, $6.9 million for his services is downright ludicrous.
The Rams know he deserves more than that, it’s just a matter of how much more and for how long.
“We’ll keep working at it, but I enjoy talking to them,” Demoff said. “This isn’t contentious, this isn’t personal. We just have to find the right deal to reward Aaron for the special player he is.”
It’s easy to see why the Rams are taking the stance that they are. It’s also clear why Donald and his reps are pushing for the team to pay him significantly more than what he’s slated to earn in 2018. Like Demoff said, that doesn’t make either side right or wrong and he and the Rams “enjoy working with them” and have “done other deals with them.”
However, the Rams have quite a bit of leverage in this situation, as teams often do. If Donald doesn’t show up by Aug. 7, he becomes a restricted free agent after the season, further improving the Rams’ position in this. Even if he reports by then, the Rams are almost certain to franchise tag him in 2019 and possibly 2020 if no deal is reached beforehand.
There’s nothing Donald can do about that other than holding out again and again, but he’ll obviously lose game checks if that were to happen. In turn, the Rams will also be losing the best defender in the NFL. That’s not something either side wants.
As for the financial figures, there have been very few leaks out of either camp. Demoff debunked any reports about the money Donald is seeking or what the Rams have possibly offered, saying “whatever gets reported in the media is always slanted or blown out of proportion.”
“I’ve seen numbers. None of them are accurate. None of the postures are accurate,” Demoff said. “Most importantly, we’ve had a great relationship with their agents to date. That doesn’t mean we see eye-to-eye.”
A short-term pay raise as a bridge to a lucrative long-term extension doesn’t seem to be on the table, especially with the Rams right up against the cap in 2018 already. That’s something Julio Jones got out of the Falcons for this season, but that’s likely not something Donald or his camp wants.
And in the near future, the Rams have plenty of young core players to pay, which further complicates things.
“What’s important right now is to continue to make sure we try to find a way to get Aaron in the fold, but also preserve – because that’s what we need,” Demoff continued. “We’re gonna have Marcus Peters on a contract expiring. You have Jared [Goff] coming up. You know, next year we’re going to have four picks in the top 100. You want to make sure that what we’re building is not just short-term. It’s sustainable. There’s a balance there.”
This standoff could go on for quite a while, but neither side wants to see it last into the regular season. They just seem too far apart right now to get a deal done fairly quickly.
