Officers very commonly will sign (or, will be asked to sign, or will themselves demand to sign) an employment ageement.
At lower levels in Co. it mostly protects the Co.'s interests. At higher levels in Co. it protects the employee as well as the Co.'s interests.
I see this as a re-up for Danforth on an original employment ageement that dates back to his original hire date.
from web site
John Danforth, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
John Danforth, senior vice president and general counsel, joined Rambus in October 2001 and leads its strategy to leverage innovations created by the engineering team, as well as grow the company's intellectual property portfolio.
I see nothing in the announcement by which to take the announced action as a prelude to Danforth's impending retirement. Do you?