Lionel Messi turns 39 this week and still leads the World Cup in goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, just scored twice against Uzbekistan. Soccer's two biggest legends keep proving that age is negotiable. Now football fans are asking the same question about a much younger man: can a 35-year-old defensive tackle still hold up in the NFL?
That's the debate swirling around Aaron Donald, and Polymarket has put a number on it.
How Polymarket Sees a Donald Comeback
Here's where the Messi and Ronaldo parallel breaks down. Soccer rewards stamina and decision-making more than brute collisions. The NFL is a different sport entirely, and defensive tackle is one of its most punishing positions. Former Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth put it plainly: a comeback means "choosing to accept the pain you're going to be under" every week.
Donald himself described losing that hunger after his last season, telling the LA Times: "I'm complete. I'm full." Conditioning was never the issue, he's been posting videos of himself bench-pressing 160-pound dumbbells throughout retirement. The real obstacle is whether he wants to go through 17 games of physical punishment again.
When Could He Actually Return?
If Donald decides to play, the Rams reportedly have more than one path available:
- Join the team before training camp and ramp up with the full roster
- Sign closer to Week 1, since he's stayed in shape on his own.
- Wait out most of the season and arrive late, similar to how Roger Clemens used to join MLB contenders down the stretch
So while Messi and Ronaldo show that elite athletes can keep performing well past their thirties, Donald's situation isn't really about whether his body can take it. It's about whether the motivation comes back. As one Reddit user summed up the stakes if it does: "Freaking Avengers level threat man."
