PITTSBURGH NATIVE AARON DONALD, WHO’S ALSO A SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, HAD HIS NO. 97 PITT JERSEY RETIRED ON NOV. 15. (PHOTO BY MARLON MARTIN)
From the Homewood Stingers, to the Kingsley Knights, to the Lincoln Rams, to Penn Hills High School…
Hard work pays off.
The University of Pittsburgh Panthers were served a reality check at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Acrisure Stadium, Nov. 15. The final score on the football field was 37-15.
But that never could have taken away the moment that Aaron Donald received at halftime.
Donald, a surefire Pro Football Hall of Famer in a few years, is Pittsburgh born-and-bred. Lincoln-Lemington to be exact. On this day, Nov. 15, 2025, he didn’t have the pads on that he wore en route to demolishing offensive lines, quarterbacks and running backs in his days as a defensive lineman at Pitt, and then in the NFL with the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams.
On this day, Nov. 15, 2025, he walked onto the Acrisure Stadium field, greeted by the mostly African American kids who now make up those aforementioned little league football squads. They shook his hand, some took a quick photo with him, knowing that not too long ago, he played football for those teams. In the stands, the more-than 60,000 people cheered and watched as one of Pitt’s all-time greats was about to get his jersey number, 97, officially retired by the university.
AARON DONALD AND HIS FAMILY ARE ALL SMILES AS DONALD SEES HIS JERSEY GET RETIRED, NOV. 15, 2025. (PHOTO BY ROB LIGGETT)
Awaiting him near his jersey at the 50-yard line was his immediate family, including his wife, Erica, and their four children. When he arrived at the 50-yard-line, his immediate family came together with a collective hug. It was a, “We did it,” moment. Not “I,” but “We.”
A moment later, everyone looked to the top of Acrisure Stadium, where the “DONALD 97” was unveiled. Simply put, Donald is one of the greatest players to ever play football at the University of Pittsburgh.
“Look at that, look at that,” Donald said when he took the microphone. “That’s me, that’s legacy, that’s forever.”
Donald was honored by the New Pittsburgh Courier in 2023 as the Fab 40 under 40’s first-ever Trailblazer Honoree. The Courier chose Donald not only for all that he accomplished on the field, but his valiant efforts to give back to the Pittsburgh community. Through his AD99 Foundation, Donald works with student-athletes ages 13-18, with the goal of equipping those students with the academic enrichment and positive youth development experiences that will aid them in their high school and post-secondary journeys.
“A Pittsburgh kid, born and raised, you know what that means to me?” Donald said about having his jersey retired in a video prior to coming onto the field, Nov. 15. “My journey, everything that I had to do, the body of work, the adversity I’ve been through in my life period, to come full-circle…at 34 years old, and get to share this with my four kids and my wife?”
As Donald spoke to the crowd at Acrisure, next to his name throughout the stadium on the digital screens were four words—”Hard Work Pays Off.”
For Aaron Donald, the hometown kid, hard work paid off.
“This is a special moment for me,” Donald said on the field. “I didn’t think I was going to cry, my eyes are watering a little bit…Hard work pays off, and Hail to Pitt forever.”
HANGING FOREVER—AARON DONALD’S NO. 97 JERSEY. (PHOTO BY MARLON MARTIN)
AARON DONALD IS ONE OF THE GREATEST PLAYERS IN PITT HISTORY. (PHOTO BY MARLON MARTIN)