Ray Rice Files Grievance Against Ravens Over Contract Termination, Could Receive $3.52M If Reinstated

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice filed a grievance against the franchise over the termination of his contract, reports said Tuesday. The Ravens cut Rice on Sept. 8 just hours after the release of surveillance footage that depicted his February domestic assault of then-fiancée Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City elevator.

In the grievance, Rice argues that the NFL’s collective-bargaining agreement permits one punishment per incident, Pro Football Talk reports. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced in July that Rice would be suspended for two games for his role in the domestic violence incident.

Rice served the two-game penalty but was cut by the Ravens and issued a second, indefinite suspension by the NFL after the release of the surveillance footage. The NFL believes that the surveillance footage constituted new evidence that provided league officials with grounds to levy a second punishment against him.

Rice’s grievance against the Ravens was filed weeks ago, ESPN reports. A timetable for a resolution to the case has yet to be publicly established.

Previously, the 27-year-old appealed his indefinite suspension, with a hearing scheduled for Nov. 5-Nov. 6. If independent arbitrator Barbara S. Jones rules in Rice’s favor, he would be a free agent, eligible to play this season for any team willing to sign him. Jones will decide this week if Goodell will testify at the hearing.

Successful appeals of Rice’s indefinite suspension and the Ravens’ termination of his contract would make him eligible for the remaining $3.52 million he would have received this season after his reinstatement to the team after Week 3, Pro Football Talk notes.

Rice's assault on Palmer was one of several incidents that led the NFL to announce stricter penalties against employees who engage in domestic violence. Goodell has vowed that league officials will revamp the NFL's personal conduct policy by Feb. 1.