The National Football League (NFL) features a violent mix of hard-hitting, fast-paced action for sports fans. It’s the biggest reason so many people find it exciting. It’s also propelled the league to the status of the most popular sport in the United States.
However, sometimes NFL players extend that violence outside the game and into real life, and the consequences are often quite disgusting. It’s a dark side of the NFL that is nevertheless often at the forefront of news headlines centered on the game.
We broke down the most notorious criminals in NBA history recently. Now, check out the 26 most notorious criminals in NFL history right here:
26. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens:
The Super Bowl-winning Rice found himself in a heap of off-the-field trouble when he and his then-girlfriend Janay Palmer were both arrested for assault in early 2014 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Video showed Rice dragging a knocked out Palmer out of a hotel elevator. TMZ later released video of Rice knocking Palmer out in the elevator.
Rice was indicted for third-degree aggravated assault. They were married a month-and-a-half later. The charges were dropped when Rice agreed to counseling. The NFL suspended Rice for two games initially and was then caught with their pants down when the real video inside the elevator surfaced. His brutal KO shot on his current wife was a huge story for quite a while, yet Rice can only kick off this list because he was not technically convicted of his crime despite how vicious video showed it truly was.