Apart from missing a pair of games and necessarily hurting his team, Ravens running back Ray Rice will lose plenty of money.
At a base salary of $4 million for 2014, the forfeiture of a pair of game checks will keep $470,588 out of Rice’s pocket. (It’s also possible that Rice’s punishment will include a fine in the amount of one or more additional game checks; for now, the reports have focused only on the suspension.)
Of course, Rice also has received $25 million in the last 24 months, which undoubtedly is one of the reasons why the Ravens are standing behind him. If they hadn’t already given him so much money and/or if they didn’t still think he can move the chains, the team would be moving on.
Indeed, if the Ravens had gone with a back-loaded deal instead of a ridiculously front-loaded package, the Ravens possibly wouldn’t be quite so understanding and supportive of a guy who knocked a woman out in a public place.Rice has appeal rights under the personal-conduct policy. Given the justifiable criticism of the decision to suspend him only two games, Rice’s best play could be to accept the penalty and move on.