Rice is the Raiders' 10th all-time top receiver. In 2010, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a Raider, he was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002, when the Raiders led the NFL in total offense and advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII. The game was canceled due to weather conditions, but it was revealed later that Rice had a knee injury and wasn't able to play.
Here's what else you need to know about Jerry Rice: He went to high school in Los Angeles, played college football at California University of Pennsylvania, and was selected in first round (fourth overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1989 NFL Draft. Rice broke many records during his career, including most 100-yard receiving games (ten), most 1,000-yard receiving seasons (nine), and most touchdown catches (17). He was also named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
In 2014, Rice announced that he was quitting football to focus on other ventures outside of sports.
Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2010. The 49ers retired Rice's No. 80 jersey during halftime of a game against the Saints on September 20, 2010.
The decision to retire Rice's number came as a surprise to many fans and media members. During his career with the 49ers, Rice led the league in receiving yards three times: 1988, 1989, and 1990. He also holds the record for most 100-yard games by a receiver (10). Despite having only one season left on his contract, rumors began to spread that Rice might be traded before he became a free agent in 1991. On March 2, 1991, just over a month before he was set to become a free agent, the 49ers signed Rice to a five-year contract worth $8 million.
There had been talk that Rice might want to continue playing after two seasons in San Francisco, but this never materialized into anything more than speculation. In fact, Rice announced after his final game against the Saints that he was hanging up his helmet for good. "I've said many times before, I would have played forever if they'd allowed receivers to play quarterback," Rice said. "But I'm ready to move on from my football career."
He set an NFL record for receiving yards six times, including 1,848 yards in 1995. Rice also six times led the NFL in touchdown catches. Rice is the only wide receiver in NFL history to have played 20 seasons. He died in April 2017 at age 49.
In addition to his work with The Jerry Rice Foundation, Rice spent time working with children through his role as host of a television show called "Rice under the Rivets". The program gave opportunities to young people from around the world to learn about athletics and the entertainment industry through daily interviews with famous athletes such as Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, and Jim Brown.
During his career, Rice combined with Tim McCarver to produce 22 winning seasons and $100 million in salary cap gains for the San Francisco 49ers. In 1995, he was part of the first class of inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
After retiring from football, Rice stayed involved with the sport by serving as an analyst for ESPN and hosting a weekly radio show on 710 AM in San Francisco.
He returned to football in 2001 as the quarterback coach for the Oakland Raiders. After one season, he was promoted to receivers coach where he worked with names like Mark Carrier, Bill Lewis, and Charlie Dayton.
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