{"id":63334,"date":"2019-04-12T17:03:17","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T21:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=63334"},"modified":"2021-03-18T19:26:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T23:26:59","slug":"aaron-donald-makes-financial-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/04\/12\/aaron-donald-makes-financial-commitment\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Donald Commits to Pitt, Disrupts The NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Aaron Donald Commits to Pitt, Disrupts The NFL<\/h1>\n<p>The undisputed choice for the NFL\u2019s Most Disruptive Player,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/D\/DonaAa00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Donald<\/a><\/strong>, has now disrupted the balance in the ongoing saga of off-season good and evil.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/schools\/pittsburgh\/2018.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">University of Pittsburgh<\/a> has announced that the league\u2019s Defensive Player of the Year two years running for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/teams\/ram\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Rams<\/a>\u00a0has made an amazing seven-figure financial commitment to his alma mater.<\/p>\n<p>What is being described as a \u201chistoric gift\u201d now makes Donald, at twenty-seven, the youngest seven-figure donor in the history of the University. It\u2019s also the largest donation by a Pitt Panther football letterman in the program\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NFL star and Pitt legend Aaron Donald has made a seven-figure financial commitment to the Pitt Football Championship Fund.<\/p>\n<p>At 27, Donald is the University&#39;s youngest seven-figure donor in history.<\/p>\n<p>Thank You, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AaronDonald97?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@AaronDonald97<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0tlxOPYLGR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/0tlxOPYLGR<\/a><br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/H2P?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#H2P<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QryW5vMsfL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/QryW5vMsfL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pitt_FB\/status\/1116672817821515779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But wait! There\u2019s more.<\/p>\n<h2>Donald Solidifies His Name For Years To Come<\/h2>\n<p>The university, in honor, appreciation, and recognition of Donald\u2019s generosity, will now be renaming their Duratz Athletic Complex to the \u201cAaron Donald Football Performance Center.\u201d This is where Pitt football players workout. It includes their locker room, training facility and more. Additionally, the gift will help in areas of technology, facility upgrades, even recruiting. But no less important, its focus will also be geared towards student-athlete development.\u00a0It&#8217;s Donald&#8217;s way of giving gratitude while helping Pitt Panthers of the future to become as impacted and inspired as he has been.<\/p>\n<p>This is a person that cares deeply about his alma mater and returns every year to work out and aid others in doing so. His financial pledge is proof and embeds his name in the fabric of the University for many years to come.<\/p>\n<p>Donald, who doesn&#8217;t shy away from speaking on the positive things that have shaped him, had this to say. &#8220;My experience as a Panther is something that influences my life every day and I want to pay that forward. I believe in what Coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/coaches\/pat-narduzzi-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">[Pat] Narduzzi<\/a> is building at Pitt and this was an opportunity for me to make a difference for our current and future players. Pitt will always be my school and I&#8217;m honored to be able to support the Blue and Gold.<\/p>\n<p>In a nutshell, here&#8217;s a look at what the University of Pittsburgh has helped inspire:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2014 NFL\u00a0AP Defensive Rookie of the Year<\/li>\n<li>2017 NFL\u00a0AP Defensive Player of the Year<\/li>\n<li>2018 NFL\u00a0AP Defensive Player of the Year<\/li>\n<li>2014 NFL All-Rookie Team<\/li>\n<li>Five straight Pro Bowls (2014-2018)<\/li>\n<li>Four First-Team All-Pro (2015-2018)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>This Is Why You Pay&#8217;em<\/h3>\n<p>Other accolades include being named to the NFL Top 100 list the last four years (2015-2018), five Defensive Player of the Week awards (two in 2018) and two Defensive Player of the Month awards (also two in 2018). Unlike many players his best season, without question, came after receiving that huge 6-year, $135M extension.<\/p>\n<p>Donald remains humble and hard-working despite his huge success. He is one of the NFL\u2019s brightest shining lights and this is much needed news amid the gossip, rumors and scandals that sometimes plague the league.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this is why you pay the Aaron Donalds, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bryanko01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kobe Bryants<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jordami01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Jordans<\/a> of the world. The elite who strive to be better and better for no other reason than they were born to. Sometimes they have a chip on their shoulder. Too often, they have a bad life to overcome. For these reasons and more of their own, they don&#8217;t work any less to deserve what they earn. Often they do more. More times than not they become positive role models that can greatly impact young minds and lives for the better. This is good for the nation and the world overall. Then there\u2019s the added bonus that they bring positive vibes to both your fan base and your bottom line. In other words, they will almost always make you exceedingly proud that you did.<\/p>\n<p>A bit dramatic? Sure, but would you rather keep reading about conflicts of interests within our sports, who tweeted what about who or who abused their wife or child?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ProfileHeaderCard-name\">As Mike Washabaugh (<a class=\"ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MWashMC\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"username u-dir\" dir=\"ltr\">@<b class=\"u-linkComplex-target\">MWashMC<\/b><\/span><\/a>), Operations Manager for 1160 AM WMET in Washington D.C., put it, &#8220;This is real news. Worthy of a real headline. A real person doing a real good thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>You can read more about Aaron Donald&#8217;s seven-figure commitment at the University of Pittsburgh&#8217;s official announcement page or here to click the Rams page:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hard work pays off.<\/p>\n<p>Coming soon to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pitt_FB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Pitt_FB<\/a>&#8230; the &quot;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AaronDonald97?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@AaronDonald97<\/a> Football Performance Center.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RamsNFL\/status\/1116710784917069824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"uLXP4Q9BQo15o3Vdo-pKtg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1093450966\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'uLXP4Q9BQo15o3Vdo-pKtg',sig:'qAPFNAH-qePomWPlFY6_ik4qBUuBwu9-zWaeavwpahQ=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1093450966',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aaron Donald Commits to Pitt, Disrupts The NFL The undisputed choice for the NFL\u2019s Most Disruptive Player,\u00a0Aaron Donald, has now disrupted the balance in the ongoing saga of off-season good and evil. The University of Pittsburgh has announced that the league\u2019s Defensive Player of the Year two years running for the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0has made an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3007,"featured_media":63353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,54,34],"tags":[450,7473],"class_list":["post-63334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-editorials","category-rams","tag-aaron-donald","tag-los-angeles-rams-news"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3007"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}