Legendary sports agent talks about the Rams use of 'caponomics' to bring Aaron Donald out of retirement

Aaron Donald officially made his return to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week. But how did a team with so many expensive contracts fit Donald under the salary cap?

According to famed sports agent Leigh Steinberg, it's because the Rams do a great job with "caponomics."

did it by "creating cap room, redoing someone else's contract so that there's less salary involved and by giving that player a bonus," Steinberg told OutKick in a recent interview. "If a team is creative, they can move other contracts around and create cap space."

After falling short against their NFC West rival, the in the NFC Championship Game last season, the Rams went on a spending spree this offseason.

They gave MVP-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford a one-year, $55 million contract extension, traded for Kansas City Chiefs star cornerback Trent McDuffie and signed him to a four-year, $124 million contract extension, signed cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million contract, and acquired Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett before signing him to a five-year, $208 million contract after redoing his deal following the trade.

Despite handing out all of those massive deals, the Rams were still able to sign Donald to a one-year, $20 million deal, despite being up against the salary cap.

So how, exactly, are the Rams making it work? Exactly as Steinberg said: by being creative.

For Staffords deal, the Rams have pushed his contract further into the future, spreading out the cap hit using void years, meaning Staffords contract will count against the salary cap in even though he wont be on the team. Staffords contract is spread out through the 2031 season.

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As for McDuffie, the Rams backloaded his contract. This season, McDuffies cap hit is just $10.8 million, but that rises to $30.8 million next season and will hover around that figure for ensuing three seasons.

Garretts contract is structured similarly to both Staffords and McDuffies, with a lower cap hit in the first year and larger hits later in the deal while also using void years. The reigning Defensive Player of the Years contract runs through 2030, but his cap hits are spread through 2034.

Here are his cap hits each year through 2034: $8.4 million, $15 million, $27.57 million, $39.875 million, $48.17 million, $17.523 million, $11.5 million, $7.6 million and finally $3.3 million.

To fit Aaron Donald into their group of superstars, the Rams have pushed a lot of money into the future to make it work in the present.

Steinberg thinks the decision to acquire Garrett and bring Donald out of retirement will be well worth it.

"So let's imagine that you took a team that was already the favorite to win the Super Bowl because of their (trade) of the best defensive player in football, Myles Garrett. And you now add to him an unbelievably dominant defensive player in Aaron Donald," Steinberg said.

"It creates an impregnable line that's impossible to double team. The synergistic effect of this is that an opposing offense can't double team both Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett. So somewhere in there you're going to have this spectacularly dominant player on the loose."

Steinberg is also certain that Donald, who made the Pro Bowl in each of his 10 seasons in the NFL, would not have returned unless he felt he could play at an elite level.

"I am sure that Aaron Donald would not have come back except that he thought he could