Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had the best season of his 4-year career this year, rushing for 1,364 yards and 12 touchdowns, and leading the league in yards from scrimmage with 2,068 yards. He was also one of the biggest bargains in the NFL, as he made only $600,000 in the last year of his rookie contract.
Now that he’s proven his value on the field, it’s time to for a new contract, and with Rice landing squarely in the elite running back category –he figures to get a major salary increase.
“It’s exciting because I feel like I’ve done everything that I had to do to put myself in the situation that I don’t control, it’s in the next man’s hands,” said Rice this week. “I pray about it, do everything that I can. When you put yourself in a good position, in a position where you can sit back and say whatever happens, you really don’t want to put a price on it.”
“Whatever they do, it’s going to be more than I’ve ever had. There was a reason why I never brought my contract situation into that locker room because I wanted to play the game for the love of the game and my teammates. I think we’ll get it done. There’s no doubt that I’ll be here next year.”
Rice may not want to put a price tag on it, he leaves the dirty work to his agent.
“Now, I can sit back and say, ‘’Look, four years later I’ve put my chips on the table and that’s why you hire agents to take care of that stuff,” Rice said. “I feel very confident. It’s a confident feeling. I’ve only felt like this one other time and that’s getting drafted. You don’t know where you’re going in the draft, but you know you’re getting drafted.”
And we can certainly guess where that price tag should be. Rice has rushed for 4,377 yards in his career, and also has caught 250 passes for 2,235 yards and has scored a total of 29 touchdowns – 24 on the ground, and 5 through the air.
He has proven himself as one of the top running backs in the league, averaging over 1,650 yards from scrimmage. He was the top offensive weapon for the Ravens and they would definitely like to keep him around. They could apply a franchise tag, which would pay him $452,000 per game, almost as much per game as he made all last season.
The franchise price tag has been pushed up by the lucrative contracts other elite running backs have signed in the last year. Adrian Peterson signed a seven-year, $100 million contract that includes $36 million in guaranteed money. Chris Johnson signed a four-year, $53 million extension that included $30 million in guaranteed money. Jamaal Charles’ five-year, $32.5 million contract included $13 million in guaranteed money.
Rice figures to do well either way, but he would definitely prefer a longer term commitment.
“Yeah, I definitely prefer long-term over franchise tag,” Rice said. “I’m not going to complain about the franchise tag, either. It puts yourself in a position where you play that year out and guys have done it, but I prefer the long-term. That’s what Baltimore, the city, the fans, they would love to know that Ray Rice is going to be here, not just one year, but for many years to come.”
Rice’s teammates would definitely like to see a long term commitment to their franchise back as well.
“That’s a no-brainer,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We’re really good about that. Guys that are truly Ravens, keeping them Ravens.”
And if he can get a long term deal done to stay in Baltimore, he has only one target in mind.
“We wanted to win the Super Bowl,” Rice said. “You’ve got to keep climbing the ladder. This is the healthiest I’ve been out of my whole career. It’s just a blessing.
“You take the highs and lows and you build off them. I’m excited to take my little break and get back to working out and come back in the best shape I’ve ever been.”
