This decision was a no-brainer. There was no other possible outcome based on the undisputed facts.
Rice should have been prosecuted, but that is not an NFL decision. Furthermore, the NFL had the tapes from inside the elevator and attempted to cover-up that fact.
Ray Rice will now sue the Ravens and the NFL for his 2014 contract and other damages; and he will win.
The NFL was more interested in protecting its image than in punishing Ray Rice. Ray Lewis was involved in the cover-up of a murder and got just a $250,000 from the NFL.
Keep in mind that there are actually three different considerations and points of view here from a legal/disciplinary standpoint:
1. The criminal justice system, through which Rice was allowed to cop a plea, would not face any jail time, and would have his record expunged if he completed a pre-trial intervention program.
2. The National Football League, which has some authority to discipline a player but learned today (as I predicted months ago) that this authority is not unlimited. The relationship between the NFL and individual players is governed by a collective bargaining agreement, and under the terms of that agreement the NFL is seriously constrained by what they can do to discipline a player who is physically capable of playing.
3. Individual NFL teams, who are the ones who actually sign contracts with their players and who actually serve as the players' employers (not the NFL).
Point #3 is critical here because even if the NFL cannot suspend a player indefinitely (again, I pointed this out months ago), an NFL team has a lot of latitude in canceling a player's contract for a number of reasons.
The arbiter today ruled that the NFL cannot suspend Rice indefinitely. Today's ruling does not, however, require the Baltimore Ravens to reinstate him. They cut him several weeks after this story began getting a lot of attention, and they have no obligation to put him back on their roster.