NEW YORK — An arbitrator Friday threw out Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension by the NFL for hitting his then-fiancee and now wife in a hotel elevator, freeing him to play again.

The NFL said Rice, a free agent, is “eligible to play upon signing a new contract.” Whether any team will consider signing him is another matter.

Former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones said Commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision in September to change Rice’s original suspension from two games to indefinite was “arbitrary” and an “abuse of discretion.”

Jones was deciding whether the NFL overstepped its authority in modifying Rice’s two-game suspension after video of the Baltimore Ravens running back punching Janay became public.

Rice was released by the Ravens when the video went public.

Rice and the union contended he was essentially sentenced twice, and Jones agreed, saying Rice “did not lie to or mislead the NFL.”

She noted in her decision that after Goodell increased the punishment for a first offense under the personal conduct policy from two to six games, “the commissioner called Rice to assure him that the new policy would not affect him — that it was forward-looking and his penalty would not be increased.”

The punishment changed, though, after the video was released.