Professional career
Rice was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round (55th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. [18]
2023 season
In Rice's professional debut in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, he scored his first career touchdown in a loss. [19] He achieved his first 100 yard receiving game in Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders. [20] In Week 15 against the New England Patriots, he broke the Chiefs rookie receiving touchdowns record. [21] In Week 17 against the Bengals, he had five receptions for 127 yards in the 25–17 win. [22] In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, Rice had eight receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown in the 26–7 win over the Dolphins. [23] The Chiefs reached Super Bowl LVIII in Rice's rookie season, in which Rice caught six passes for 39 yards in a 25–22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. [24] Rice broke the NFL postseason rookie receptions record, catching 26 passes, one more than previous record-holder Cincinnati Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase two years prior. [1]
2024 season
Rice opened the 2024 season with seven receptions for 103 yards in the 27–20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1. [25] In Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Rice left the game with a knee injury after Quarterback Patrick Mahomes collided with him. [26] The Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve on October 3, 2024. [27] On October 8, Rice underwent surgery to repair his LCL and hamstring, and was expected to make a full recovery but to miss the rest of the season. [28] Without Rice, the Chiefs reached Super Bowl LIX but lost 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
2025 season
On August 27, 2025, the NFL announced Rice would be suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season for his criminal convictions. He will be eligible to be reinstated in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL initially proposed a suspension of ten games or more, but there was no precedent for a suspension of this length, and the agreement for a six-game suspension was reached after pushback from Rice and the NFL Players Association. According to the NFL, the judge will allow him to choose when to serve his sentence, but it remained unclear when this would occur. [5]
Legal issues
On March 30, 2024, Rice was the driver of a Lamborghini Urus involved in a high-speed hit-and-run crash on North Central Expressway in Dallas, together with a Chevrolet Corvette he was leasing. [29] [30] [31] [32] Four other vehicles were damaged in what Dallas police called a "chain reaction collision" after the Lamborghini struck a retaining wall. Video obtained by The Dallas Morning News shows five men disembarking from the Urus and the Corvette and leaving the scene on foot without checking on the occupants of the other four vehicles. [33] Two of those occupants were transported to a hospital, and two others were treated for minor injuries at the scene. [30]
On April 3, Rice met with Dallas police, and in a statement sent to the Morning News, he said that he takes "full responsibility" for his part in the collision. His attorney Royce West said Rice "is cooperating with local authorities and will take all necessary steps to address this situation responsibly." [34] On April 4, West confirmed that Rice had been driving the Lamborghini. [31] [32]
On April 10, Dallas police issued an arrest warrant for Rice and announced that he had been charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and six counts of collision involving injuries. The Corvette driver was identified and faced the same charges. [35] [36] Rice turned himself in to Glenn Heights police the following day and was briefly jailed in DeSoto. [37] [38] Rice also faced a $1 million lawsuit from injuries caused by the crash. [39]
On May 7, 2024, Dallas police announced that Rice was under investigation for allegedly punching a photographer at a downtown Dallas club. Rice was not arrested or charged with a crime. On May 21, Dallas police said that the victim declined to press charges. [40] [41]
In a July 17, 2025, plea bargain stemming from the Dallas car crash, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felonies: one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of racing on a highway causing bodily injury. West said that all additional charges were dismissed. A Dallas County judge sentenced Rice to five years of probation and 30 days of jail time and ordered him to pay $115,481.91 to the victims for out-of-pocket medical expenses. No determination was made regarding when he would serve his jail sentence. [2] [3] [4] That same week, Rice agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by two crash victims, agreeing to pay $1 million plus their legal expenses, but he still faced a lawsuit from another victim seeking $250,000 to $1 million in damages. [4]
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