Ray Rice Writes Letter Thanking Baltimore for Support

Almost a year to the day after Ray Rice hit his wife in a casino elevator, he posted a letter on Facebook thanking the community for “the love and support” his family has received during his football career.

“This is not a farewell or goodbye,” the letter began. See the whole letter at the bottom of the article.

Rice, 28, was a running back for the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 to 2014 and was part of the team during its Super Bowl win in 2013.

The Ravens terminated Rice’s contract in September after footage showing the Feb. 15 assault was released.

• New Video of Ray Rice Shows What Happened Inside Elevator
• Ray Rice: ‘I Made a Horrendous Mistake’

“The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives,” Rice wrote in the letter. “...I thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown my family and I throughout my football career.”

Now, Rice has been offered a $1 million contract to be spokesman for Fantasy Football site Prodraftleague.com, TMZ reported Thursday, noting that if Rice hits his wife again, the contract will be void and he will owe the company $500,000 in damages.

On Friday, The Baltimore Sun said that Rice is planning to move home to New York. The New Rochelle native is continuing to train in hopes of being signed by another team, according to the newspaper.

He, his wife and their daughter Rayven live in Reisterstown.

Rice posted this letter on his Facebook page Friday morning:

This is not a farewell or goodbye. The last seven years that my family and I have spent in Baltimore have by far been the best of our lives. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you all for the love and support you’ve shown my family and I throughout my football career. We’ll always be grateful for the love we’ve received from all of our fans and supporters, and for winning a Super Bowl. To all the kids who looked up to me, I’m truly sorry for letting you down, but I hope it’s helped you learn that one bad decision can turn your dream into a nightmare. There is no excuse for domestic violence, and I apologize for the horrible mistake I made. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, and I hope to make a positive difference in people’s lives by raising awareness of this issue. Thank you, Baltimore Ravens, for all you have done for my family and I. I’m very grateful to Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome, John Harbaugh, and everyone at 1 Winning Drive. I love you all very much, and I’ll always be proud to say I played for the Baltimore Ravens.