1 professional career
1.1 san francisco 49ers
1.2 oakland raiders
1.3 seattle seahawks
1.4 retirement
1.5 legacy
professional career
san francisco 49ers
rice s record-breaking season @ mississippi valley state caught attention of many nfl scouts, speed (reportedly 4.6 in 40-yard dash) kept wary, although there apparently @ least 2 exceptions: dallas cowboys , san francisco 49ers. in autobiography, rice says cowboys, green bay packers, san diego chargers, , indianapolis colts had kept in contact him prior draft. in first round of 1985 nfl draft, dallas had 17th selection , san francisco had last (as super bowl champions 1984). 49ers coach bill walsh reportedly sought rice after watching highlights of rice saturday night before san francisco play houston oilers on october 21, 1984. on draft day (april 30, 1985), 49ers traded first 2 picks new england s first-round choice, 16th selection overall (the teams swapped third-round picks part of deal), , selected rice before, report, cowboys intending pick him. rice prized more highly usfl, no. 1 pick overall in short-lived league s 1985 draft.
rice s no. 80 jersey december 1987, when set new record touchdowns , receptions 49ers
although struggled @ times (dropping numerous passes), rice impressed nfl in rookie season 49ers in 1985, after 10-catch, 241-yard game against los angeles rams in december. rookie season, recorded 49 catches 927 yards, averaging 18.9 yards per catch , named nfc offensive rookie of year united press international (upi). following season, caught 86 passes league-leading 1,570 yards , 15 touchdowns. first of 6 seasons in rice led nfl in receiving yards , touchdown receptions. in 1987, named nfl s mvp newspaper enterprise association—which voted on nfl players—and pro football writers association. ap deemed him offensive player of year. awarded bert bell award maxwell football club nfl player of year. despite playing in 12 games year due nfl players strike, still managed gain 1,078 receiving yards , nfl-record 22 touchdown receptions stood until 2007 when broken randy moss (with moss catching 23 touchdowns in 16 games). in 1987, runner-up rice in touchdown receptions philadelphia eagles receiver mike quick 11. marked first time in post-nfl–afl merger history category leader doubled total of nearest competitor.
in 1988, rice averaged career-high 20.4 yards per catch (64 passes 1,306 yards) , 9 touchdowns. 49ers once again won nfc west 10–6 record. in postseason, instrumental in 49ers 28–3 win on chicago bears in nfc title game, recording 5 catches 123 yards , 2 touchdowns. performance in super bowl xxiii better. in possibly finest performance ever, rice caught 11 passes 215 yards , touchdown, while rushing 5 yards, helping 49ers narrow 20–16 win on cincinnati bengals. receptions , receiving yards both super bowl records. performance, became third wide receiver earn super bowl mvp honors.
in 1989, san francisco made super bowl, aided rice s 82 receptions 1,483 yards , 17 touchdowns during season, , 12 catches 169 yards , 2 touchdowns in 2 playoff games. once again major factor in 49ers championship win, finishing super bowl xxiv 7 catches 148 yards , super bowl record 3 touchdown receptions.
rice had superb season in 1990, leading nfl in receptions (100), receiving yards (1,502), , receiving touchdowns (13). in week 6 match-up atlanta falcons, rice caught career-best 5 touchdowns. san francisco finished year nfl-best 14–2 record, failed 3-peat super bowl champions, losing new york giants 15–13 in nfc title game.
after seasons of 80 catches 1,206 yards , 14 touchdowns in 1991, 84 catches 1,201 yards , 10 touchdowns in 1992, , 98 catches 1,503 yards , 15 touchdowns in 1993, rice made super bowl 49ers in 1994 season, recording career-high 112 receptions 1,499 yards , 13 touchdowns. during 49ers first game of season against los angeles raiders, caught 7 passes season-high 169 yards , 2 touchdowns (and rushed 1 more), moving first place in nfl records career touchdowns, 127. in week 3, 147 receiving yards moved him past art monk nfl s active leader, , past charlie joiner 3rd all-time. pass steve largent 2nd place in week 16. although caught 6 passes in san francisco s 2 playoff games year, proved vital component in 49–26 victory on san diego chargers in super bowl xxix, recording 10 receptions 149 yards , 3 touchdowns—despite playing separated shoulder of game.
in 1995, rice caught career-high 122 passes then-nfl record 1,848 receiving yards , 15 touchdowns (along 1 touchdown each way of running, passing, , recovering fumble). however, 49ers lost in divisional playoffs green bay packers, despite rice s impressive 11-catch, 117-yard performance. following year, recorded 108 receptions (again leading nfl) 1,254 yards , 8 touchdowns. san francisco won in wild card round, once more lost packers in divisional playoffs. in 3 seasons between 1994 , 1996, rice had racked whopping 342 catches 4,601 yards , 36 touchdowns.
during 49ers opening game of 1997 season, tore anterior cruciate , medial collateral ligaments in left knee on reverse. warren sapp of tampa bay buccaneers grabbed rice face-mask , wrenched him ground it, drawing 15-yard personal foul. injury broke streak of 189 consecutive games played. fourteen weeks later, made return, earlier doctors wanted him to. scored touchdown, when came down catch, cracked patella in left kneecap. forced miss pro bowl first time in 11 years. however, made full recovery, coming in 1998 record 82 catches 1,157 yards , 9 touchdowns , being named 12th pro bowl.
the 1999 season first rice failed reach 1,000 yards receiving while playing in 16 games. same thing happened in 2000, final season in san francisco.
oakland raiders
with emergence of terrell owens in san francisco, , because of desire rebuild team , clear salary, rice left 49ers , signed oakland raiders, following conclusion of 2000 season. joined raiders team coming off loss in afc playoffs, form 1 of oldest receiver duos tim brown.
the 2 played together, rice caught 83 passes 1,139 yards , 9 touchdowns. in 2002, caught 92 passes 1,211 yards , 7 touchdowns, named 13th pro bowl, , assisted oakland afc championship , appearance in super bowl xxxvii. team lost 48–21 buccaneers in super bowl, rice recording 5 receptions 77 yards , touchdown. 48-yard touchdown catch in fourth quarter made him first player catch touchdown pass in 4 super bowls.
on november 11, 2002, against denver broncos, rice scored 200th career touchdown, , surpassed walter payton become nfl s all-time leader in total yardage. oakland dropped 11–5 record in 2002 4–12 record in 2003, leading frustration rice role on team; requested traded.
seattle seahawks
rice traded seattle seahawks 6 games 2004 season, , reunited seattle head coach mike holmgren, had worked rice san francisco s offensive coordinator. after speaking hall of fame wide receiver steve largent, rice granted permission wear largent s retired jersey number 80.
in monday night football game against dallas cowboys, rice set career nfl record combined net yards catching 27-yard touchdown pass matt hasselbeck. finished game 8 catches 145 yards , touchdown. rice played last non-preseason professional game seattle—a wildcard loss st. louis rams in did not catch pass.
retirement
at conclusion of 2004 season—his 20th in nfl—rice opted join denver broncos one-year deal, decided rather retire @ bottom of team s depth chart.
in august 2006, 49ers announced rice sign contract them, allowing him retire member of team nfl career began. on august 24, officially retired 49er, signing one-day contract $1,985,806.49. number represented year rice drafted (1985), number (80), year retired (2006), , 49ers (49). figure ceremonial, , rice received no money. there halftime ceremony honor him during 49ers match-up seattle seahawks on november 19, 2006.
over course of career, rice played more games non-placekicker or punter in nfl history, playing 303 games overall.
legacy
rice signing autographs in 2006
rice holds numerous nfl receiving records. 1,549 career receptions 307 receptions ahead of second place record held tony gonzalez. 22,895 career receiving yards 6,961 yards ahead of second place spot held former 49ers teammate terrell owens. 197 career touchdown receptions 41 scores more second place record of 156 touchdown receptions randy moss, , 208 total touchdowns (197 receiving, 10 rushing, , 1 fumble recovery) 33 scores ahead of emmitt smith s second place total of 175. threw touchdown pass against atlanta falcons in 1995 regular season game. 1,256 career points scored make him highest-scoring non-kicker in nfl history. during career spanning 2 decades, rice averaged 75.6 receiving yards per game.
rice remembered 1 of best clutch players in football history. crucial part of 49ers victory in super bowl xxiii. down 16-13 less 3 minutes play, quarterback joe montana led 49ers in game-winning drive 36 seconds left on clock. rice instrumental in drive, catching 3 passes, , voted super bowl mvp. rice made game winning catches throughout career. known 1 of best blockers @ position, there no aspect of playing wide receiver @ rice did not excel.
rice remembered work ethic , dedication game. in 20 nfl seasons, rice missed 17 regular season games, 14 of them in 1997 season, , other 3 in strike-shortened season of 1987. 303 games far ever played nfl wide receiver. in addition staying on field, work ethic showed in dedication conditioning , running precise routes, coach dennis green calling him best route runner ve ever seen. 1 of best known examples of dedication , ethic may hill , long , steep hill in edgewood county park & natural preserve, 2 , half miles . rice sprint across hill literally every day improve abilities. hill has served inspiration many other players in 49ers organization, among them former first-round pick wide receiver a.j. jenkins, neglected train rice on hill , , subsequently traded.
in 1999, rice ranked number 2 on sporting news list of 100 greatest football players, behind jim brown, , 35 places ahead of next-highest-ranked player active, deion sanders. in 2000, rice won espy award pro football player of decade 1990s. on november 4, 2010, ranked number 1 on top 100: nfl s greatest players.
in 2011, sports network awarded inaugural jerry rice award, given each year outstanding freshman football championship subdivision (formerly i-aa) player. inaugural winner towson running terrance west.
in january 2015, rice admitted putting stickum, substance makes ball easier catch , hold on to, on gloves during career, saying know might little illegal, guys, put little spray, little stickum on them, make sure texture little sticky . stickum banned in nfl in 1981, 4 years before rice joined league. rice s contention players in era used stickum refuted pro football hall of fame contemporaries cris carter , michael irvin.
rice selected induction in pro football hall of fame class of 2010 in first year of eligibility. inducted in canton, ohio on august 7, 2010, alongside emmitt smith, floyd little, russ grimm, rickey jackson, dick lebeau, , john randle. on september 20, 2010, during halftime of game against saints, 49ers retired rice s no. 80 jersey.
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