Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has yet to serve any jail time ahead of his expected appearance at the Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
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Rice, 25, pleaded guilty in July to charges stemming from a March 2024 incident in which he caused a multivehicle crash while racing a rented Lamborghini on U.S. Highway 75 and then fled the scene. Four people were injured in the crash, with two of them hospitalized. Rice was sentenced to five years’ probation and required to pay the medical expenses for the people injured in the crash, which amounted to over $115,000.
Rice’s college teammate, Theodore “Teddy” Knox, who was a player for Southern Methodist University at the time, was also accused of driving another car at high speeds prior to the crash.
As part of the plea deal, Rice was also sentenced to 30 days in jail and 60 hours of community service. According to a spokesperson with the Dallas County district attorney’s office, Rice can choose when he serves his time in jail and can break up the sentence into chunks, as long as he coordinates that with the judge in the case. He must serve the 30 days before his five-year probation sentence is completed.
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The district attorney’s office said as of this week, Rice has yet to serve any of the jail time in the case, and it is unclear when Rice will report to jail to serve the sentence. Rice’s lawyer, state Sen. Royce West, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Dallas Morning News.
When Rice was sentenced in July, the Chiefs were set to begin training camp the next week. He was suspended without pay for six games to open the 2025 NFL season, and under the terms of the suspension, barred from the Chiefs’ practice facility and could only take part in team meetings. During the suspension, players for the Chiefs, including star tight end Travis Kelce, were criticized for wearing “Free 4” shirts, referencing Rice’s jersey number, ahead of a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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The game Thursday against Dallas will be the first Rice has played against the Cowboys since the crash and in his career. The two teams have not played each other since a 2021 game in Kansas City that ended in a 19-9 victory for the Chiefs.
In addition to the criminal charges, Rice has faced several lawsuits relating to the crash. One case resulted in a $1 million settlement in April, though Marc Lenahan, the attorney representing the crash victim, said his client only recently received her first payment from Rice.
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Lenahan, who is representing crash victim Kathryn Kuykendall, said after the settlement was reached, Rice said he did not have the money to pay the first payment, leading Lenahan to file for wage garnishment in Missouri, according to court records in Dallas County and Jackson County, Mo. Lenahan said his client received her first check from the Chiefs last week.
In addition to the $1 million owed, Rice must pay $75,000 for prejudgment interest, about $11,000 in attorneys fees and any interest accrued over the period he is making payments toward the settlement, according to Jackson County court records.
Rice, who is still on his rookie contract with the Chiefs, makes about $1.2 million a year, equating to about $70,000 per regular season game, according to Forbes. He lost about $420,000 in pay this season due to the suspension.
A standout player at SMU, Rice was selected 55th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. He won Super Bowl LVIII with the team as a rookie. He missed most of the 2024 season due to an injury.
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