Rice Settlement to Impact Ravens Salary Cap

As the Baltimore Ravens head into free agency, the team’s salary cap took a slight hit from former Ravens running back Ray Rice.

Rice filed a wrongful termination suit against the Ravens after the team released him in September when a video went public showing him striking his fiancee, Janay Palmer (now his wife), in an Atlantic City elevator in February 2014.

He received $1.588 million in a settlement in January, The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.

The NFL had initially suspended Rice for two games for the assault, which occurred last February.

Then the league suspended him indefinitely based on the September release of a video showing the assault. Rice appealed and has since been reinstated to play with the NFL.

After the Ravens terminated his contract, Rice filed a grievance requesting $3.529 million, the amount he would have earned by playing 14 games after the initial two-game suspension, according to ESPN.

The grievance was filed on grounds that Rice was being disciplined by both the NFL and the Ravens, which violated the terms of his labor agreement, NBC Sports reported.

• New Video of Ray Rice Shows What Happened Inside Elevator
• Ray Rice: ‘I Made a Horrendous Mistake’
• Rice Writes Letter Thanking Baltimore for Support
• Ray Rice Wins NFL Appeal of Indefinite Suspension

Although the NFL had factored in $1.411 million toward the Ravens’ cap due to the Rice grievance, the additional $177,000 will now be shaved off the Ravens’ available funds toward the cap, according to ESPN.

This year’s salary cap is $143.28 million across the NFL, NBC Sports reports. It is adjusted based on each team’s situation.

Baltimore’s adjusted cap is $143.13 million, according to Ravens officials, who report the team had $5.79 million carrying over from last year but lost $3.94 million “due to players triggering incentive clauses.”

Free agency opens up March 10.