Ray Rice no longer with Nike, Madden
Nike says it has severed its endorsement deal with Ray Rice and EA Sports has pulled the suspended running back from its "Madden NFL 15" as fallout grows from his domestic violence incident.
Nike spokesman KeJuan Wilkins confirmed to ESPN.com that as of noon ET Tuesday, the former Ravens running back, who had an active deal with the company, was no longer on the roster of the world's largest sports shoe and apparel maker.
Despite writing more endorsement checks than anyone else, severing a contract is rare for the brand. The few athletes who have lost their deals include Lance Armstrong, Justin Gatlin and Michael Vick.
Armstrong and Gatlin lost their deals related to performance-enhancing drugs. Vick was released after he admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation. Nike has since signed Vick again. Nike has also recently suspended the contract of paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius with a decision likely to be made this week as the trial involving his girlfriend's death comes to a close.
Nike used Rice as recently as January to unveil to the press the special cold-weather gear it made for the Super Bowl in New Jersey. The company is also the official apparel provider of the league.
Rice will be removed from Madden through an online roster update, as the game has already been released.
"With Ray Rice's indefinite suspension from the NFL, he will be removed from 'Madden NFL 15,'" EA Sports communications director Julie Foster said. "This roster change will take place by this Friday."
Rice lost another endorsement deal from a jump training program called VertiMax. VertiMax CEO Michael Wehrell initially stood by Rice in February, after the first video of Rice dragging his then-fiancee out of an Atlantic City casino elevator emerged. On Monday, Wehrell said his company decided to cut its association with Rice in June.
"After internal discussion about the events that transpired, we determined that a future relationship with Ray did not align with our goals as a company," Wehrell said in a statement.
Rice jerseys were pulled off shelves at retailers Dick's Sporting Goods and Modell's on Monday and were no longer available for sale at the NFL Shop, the league's official online store. On Tuesday, the Ravens announced they would allow fans to exchange Rice jerseys at some point, though the details of the program have not yet been specified.
