Sidney Rice stepped away from the NFL at age 27 today, but he said he wants to make sure Seattle knows he’s not going anywhere.
“After careful consideration and seven wonderful years playing in the National Football League, including the last three for the Seattle Seahawks, I have decided to retire from playing in the National Football League,” Rice said in a statement released by the team. “I have enjoyed my experiences with all of my coaches, teammates and passionate Seahawks fans. I take great pride in knowing I was one of the players signed to help build the foundation of the team that ultimately won the Super Bowl. I’ll be joining the 12s in support of the Seattle Seahawks as they take on the challenge to repeat. I appreciate all of the wonderful opportunities and look forward to establishing myself as a businessman. I will always be a Seahawk!”
Rice has invested his money back into his market, as he opened the first of five chicken-wing restaurants in June.
That kind of responsibility is part of the reason the Seahawks had such a response to Rice, who missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL.
“The entire organization would like to thank Sidney for his leadership over the past three seasons,” said General Manager John Schneider said. “His time as a Seahawks player displayed the core values that Pete and I aimed to bring to the program and Sidney is a true champion. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
Rice wasn’t a certainty to make the Seahawks roster this season, but he has clearly taken the steps to establish himself for the much longer career of being a retired football player, and done it the right way.