Rams star Aaron Donald is skipping his team's organized team activities (OTAs) while seeking a raise. Now the future Hall of Fame defensive tacke has an entirely new agency behind him. Amid his holdout from voluntary workouts, Donald told the "I Am Athlete" podcast this week that he's signed with Donda Sports, the new endeavor from celebrity rapper and businessman Kanye West.
Donald framed his new partnership as mostly an off-field opportunity, crediting his wife, Erica, for managing his marketing and being part of the deal. He emphasized that Donda Sports, which was founded to provide "holistic support to athletes during and beyond their sports career," will provide a wide range of services.
"[Hearing] the whole spectrum of everything that was going on, what they were going to be bringing, the family atmosphere that they got," Donald explained, "for me, it was a no-brainer. I think it's a hell of an opportunity to open up a lot of different doors and a lot of different things outside of football that I wanna be involved in. ... To be a part of that, and be one of the first athletes to be a part of that, it's pretty dope."
Donda Sports' first athlete partnership was announced in February, when former Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown took on a leadership role for the brand. Brown, it should be noted, just recently hinted that his playing career is over. It may or may not be a coincidence that Donald hinted at his own retirement prior to the Rams' Super Bowl win in February, and that the perennial Pro Bowler is reportedly still open to hanging up the cleats if Los Angeles doesn't meet his contract demands ahead of 2022.
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