Ex-NFL star Ray Rice returned to Rutgers to receive his diploma on Tuesday – nearly two decades after he left school for the NFL.
The running back, 39, helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII before his career was ended by a shocking domestic violence scandal that rocked the NFL.
But it is said Rice promised his grandparents that he would earn his college degree and nearly 6,700 days after declaring for the NFL Draft, he graduated alongside classmates nearly half his age.
According to NJ.com, the 39-year-old took online classes alongside many of the current Rutgers football team, two decades after he set records in his junior season.
Rice insisted to NJ.com that his graduation is not ‘a redemption story’ – despite it coming 12 years after footage appeared of him hitting his then-fiancee, Janay, in the face in an elevator.
The running back was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and released by the Ravens. He never played another game in the NFL but is now married to Janay. They share two children together – Rayven, 14, and Jaylen, nine.
Rice’s wife, Janay, posted a photo of him following his graduation this week
The running back, 39, helped the Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII before his career was ended
The former running back this week graduated alongside classmates nearly half his age
‘Back where it all began,’ Rutgers Football posted on social media. ‘Ray Rice returns to Rutgers to finish what he started, earning his degree!’
US soccer legend Alexi Lalas and Lions running back Isiah Pacheco are among the other ex-Rutgers athletes who have returned to finish their studies.
Rice had 75 credits towards a degree in labor and employment relations when he left Rutgers following the 2007 campaign.
According to NJ.com, it was in the fall of 2024 when he decided to head back to school and complete his degree.
He reportedly took classes in contract negotiations and the history of hip-hop, even writing a paper on his close friend, the rapper Jadakiss.
A school official told NJ.com that Rice ‘kicked a**. It is claimed that he finished his studies in January and sent a copy of his diploma to his grandparents.
