Rams Continue to Honor Aaron Donald

Aaron Donald retired before the 2024 season and, despite Sean McVay’s best efforts to lure him back onto the field, the future Hall of Famer appears retired permanently.

In other words, the Rams decided to wait a year to be sure before green lighting Aaron Donald Bobblehead Night. The event is Nov. 23 at SoFi Stadium, when the Rams host Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football.

“Aaron Donald is one of the greatest Rams of all-time,” general manager Les Snead said in a statement, “and we can’t wait to come together with our fans to thank him for everything he’s done for our organization, our city and our game. It will be an honor to recognize Aaron on the very field where he sealed our Super Bowl win.”

Indeed, among countless other impactful plays over his 10-year career, Donald delivered the game-winning pressure on Joe Burrow in Super Bowl LVI. Protecting a 23-20 lead on fourth-and-1 with 43 seconds left, Donald’s penetration and hurry forced Burrow’s game-icing incompletion and allowed the Rams to run out the clock.

Just like Shohei Ohtani bobblehead distributions this season at Dodger Stadium, expect tickets in high demand for the Nov. 23 game. The first 60,000 through the SoFi Stadium gates get the coveted souvenir. Expect eBay to have them available for as much as $150 in a futures transaction even before the bobbleheads are in hand (as they were for Ohtani souvenirs).

Jared Verse might want to use his team connections to secure an early bobblehead, reminding him of the competition he lost earlier this month. Verse will get one of the extra souvenirs. Plus, players aren’t counted in the official attendance.

The capacity of SoFi Stadium is 70,240. That means fans have about an 85 percent chance to receive an exclusive, limited-edition No. 99 bobblehead upon entry – as long as they beat their notoriously late-arriving Los Angeles counterparts. But they shouldn’t wait to reserve tickets.

The Rams are selling single-game tickets online (therams.com/tickets) through NFL partner TicketMaster. As of Friday, the lowest-priced tickets on that site appear to be upper-deck seats for a little more than $100 each. StubHub, meanwhile, is offering them for about $30 cheaper.

According to the team, the Rams will honor Donald and his family at halftime, giving fans an opportunity to celebrate the career of one of the best defensive players of all-time. Kickoff that night is 5:20 p.m. PT and NBC will televise the contest.

The third player in league history to garner the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year three times, Donald also earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 and five first-team All-Pro selections. His 20½ sacks in 2018 represent the single-season franchise record and most ever by an NFL defensive tackle.

The Rams might need the additional energy created by the Aaron Donald celebration. Former Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield could have the Buccaneers in playoff position that night. The NFC clash figures to loom large in the postseason picture, a game featuring two of the conference’s four defending division winners, Tampa Bay from the NFC South and Los Angeles from the NFC West.

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