It’s been nearly two years since the Ravens terminated the contract of Ray Rice, but the 29-year-old still isn’t giving up on the possibility of playing in the NFL again.
In an interview with USA Today, Rice said he would donate his entire 2016 salary to organizations combating domestic violence if he were to sign with a team. The three-time Pro Bowl selection hasn’t played in the league since video surfaced of him striking his then-fiancée and current wife, Janay, in an Atlantic City casino elevator, which prompted the Ravens to release him and the NFL to suspend him on Sept. 8, 2014.
“All the scrutiny that I’ve got, it was deserved, because domestic violence is a horrible thing,” Rice told USA Today. “Me donating my salary is something that’ll be from the heart for me. I only want to play football so I can end it the right way for my kids and for the people that really believed in me. But I know there’s a lot of people affected by domestic violence, and every dollar helps. It’s raising awareness.”
He hasn’t received as much as a tryout with another NFL team, but he was invited back to the Ravens’ training facility in Owings Mills to speak to their current class of rookies in May. Rice has also spoken at multiple colleges to share his cautionary tale with young players in hopes that they don’t follow the same path.
Considering he hasn’t played in the NFL since 2013 and averaged just 3.1 yards per carry in his final season with Baltimore, Rice receiving a second chance with another team has felt like a long shot for quite some time, but he has continued to stay in shape in hopes of resuming his football career. The minimum salary for a seventh-year NFL veteran in 2016 is $885,000.
Rice received a total of $25 million over his final two seasons with the Ravens, the first two years of a five-year deal worth up to $35 million that was signed in 2012.
