Former Ravens running back Ray Rice has reached an undisclosed settlement with the NFL in his wrongful termination suit.
Rice was cut from the Ravens and indefinitely suspended after video footage of him assaulting his then-fianceé was made public. The suspension was reversed on appeal.
Criminal charges against the 27-year-old were dropped after his wife, Janay, declined to testify.
Rice had a $35 million contract with the Baltimore team, and sought the $3.5 million back pay he lost last year while suspended. While the terms of the settlement have not been made public, a source close to the matter said the agreement was "fair."
The settlement allows the parties to avoid a grievance hearing and ruling by NFL arbitrator Shyam Das. The hearing was scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Rice became a free agent after his suspension was vacated in November, when a judge found that he had been truthful with the league about the February assault.
Judge Barbara Jones ruled that the NFL did not find out about the assault in stages as the public did, and that terminating him after suspending him was "arbitrary."
Sources say Rice continues to train in hopes of being signed to another team, but has not yet been invited to visit our work out with anyone. A source added that the husband and father is realistic about his chances of being re-signed, considering the media firestorm that is likely to follow.
Rice has been paid $25 million of his five-year, $35 million contract, including a $15 million signing bonus - the largest for a running back in NFL history.
The couple reportedly turned to God following their very public domestic violence incident in February last year.
TMZ reported that the couple became born-again Christians, and were baptised in March. They also allegedly provide spiritual counselling to other couples.
