There are a lot of Quarterbacks and Offensive Coordinators who are breathing easier today.

Aaron Donald, the most terrorizing Defensive Player in the last ten years, has announced his retirement after ten years in the NFL, all with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. 

Drafted 13^th Overall in 2014 from Pittsburgh, Donald accomplished everything a player could.  Named to the Pro Bowl in all ten of his campaigns, Donald was a First Team All-Pro in seven of them and won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards.  Donald also won the Defensive Rookie of the Year and achieved the ultimate goal: a Super Bowl win.

Donald retires with 111 Sacks, 176 Tackles for Loss, 260 Quarterback Sacks and 543 Combined Tackles.  He will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029 and is a lock to enter on the first ballot.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Aaron Donald the best in his post-playing career.

Jake Muzzin had a nice 12-year career, split between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Defenseman’s best years were in L.A., where he had three 40-point years and helped the Kings win the 2014 Stanley Cup. The Kings traded Muzzin to Toronto, where he stayed more on the defensive end.

Internationally, he competed in two major tournaments and won Gold in both of them: the 2016 World Cup and the 2015 World Hockey Championships.

The phrase "what could have been" hardly captures the complete demise of Wander Franco’s baseball career. Among modern prospect evaluations, few players arrived in the majors with as nearly flawless a projection. Signed from the Dominican Republic by the Tampa Bay Rays for $3.825 million in 2017, the switch-hitting shortstop dominated minor-league pitching and secured consecutive consensus No. 1 prospect rankings across baseball. When he finally debuted in June 2021, he appeared to be a once-in-a-generation talent, setting an historic 43-game on-base streak that tied Frank Robinson's all-time record for a 20-year-old. Despite only 70 games played, he finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

Tampa Bay was so confident they saw the future face of the sport that they broke their strict, low-payroll philosophy. In November 2021, they signed the 20-year-old to an extraordinary 11-year, $182 million extension, a franchise record. This bold financial commitment was rare for a small-market team, giving Franco control of the organization even before completing a full year in the major leagues.

The initial returns from that historic investment showed remarkable success but also early signs of physical weakness. Franco missed much of the 2022 season due to a fractured right hamate bone and repeated quad strains, yet he still demonstrated elite bat-to-ball skills by hitting .277 over 83 games. He started the 2023 season strongly, impressing with his aggressive play and smooth, efficient defense at shortstop. By July, he earned his first career All-Star invite as an injury replacement for Aaron Judge. By early August, his power and speed were fully on display, with 17 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and a 5.3 bWAR, helping the Rays move confidently toward October.

Then, everything changed dramatically. On August 13, 2023, social media revealed serious allegations of an illegal relationship between the 22-year-old star and a minor in the Dominican Republic. Major League Baseball promptly put Franco on administrative leave, while international authorities initiated a broad criminal investigation. By July 2024, he was moved to the restricted list, losing his salary and service time, as prosecutors accused him of sexual abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking.

The legal saga concluded definitively in the Dominican court system. Franco was convicted of both sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, and this conviction withstood appeals. Although a three-judge panel later pardoned him, citing that he was under an extensive extortion and blackmail scheme by the minor's mother, the conviction remains permanently on his record.  No team in the Majord will touch him again.

His MLB career concluded with 292 hits, 30 home runs, and a .282/.340/.454 slash line over just 265 games.

Devan Dubnyk was a professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He started his NHL career in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers, two years after being selected by them in the first round of the draft. Dubnyk had to wait until 2012 to become a regular starter, after which he was traded to Nashville, where he served as the backup to Pekka Rinne. He then found himself back in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Dubnyk signed with the Arizona Coyotes in the 2014-15 season but was traded to the Minnesota Wild two months into the season, where he had the best run of his career. Dubnyk took the Wild on his back and helped them reach the playoffs. He had a remarkable GAA of 2.33 (1.78 with Minnesota) and finished the season with several accolades. Dubnyk was named a Second-Team All-Star, finished fourth in Hart voting, and won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Dubnyk remained with Minnesota for two more seasons, during which he continued to perform well. He ended his NHL career with brief stints in San Jose and Colorado. Over the course of his career, Dubnyk posted an overall record of 177-113-28. His resilience, determination, and hard work characterized his career, earning him the respect and admiration of his teammates and fans alike.