August 30, 2008 Michael Vick joined a bankruptcy court meeting on speaker phone from the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, on Friday, and he told his creditors that he expects to play in the NFL again, according to the Virginian-Pilot. “My plan is to go back into playing football,” he said, per the Virginian-Pilot.
Our View:Vick said his agent and lawyers are in talks with the NFL. He said neither he nor anyone working on his behalf is talking to the United Football League, whose commissioner says there’s a 98 percent chance that Vick will play in the startup organization. Overall, the Virginian-Pilot’s portrait paints Vick as someone who’s so clueless about money that not only did he blow his millions in the NFL, but he also gave power of attorney — from Leavenworth — to a “financial adviser” whom his lawyers had specifically told him not to trust. That adviser allegedly stole $50,000 from Vick, and, according to Vick, is currently in possession of a $20,000 chain that he gave to his younger brother, Marcus.
August 10, 2008 It is "98%" sure that disgraced quarterback Michael Vick will be playing football in 2009. Not in the NFL, but in the start-up United Football League, the league's commissioner, Michael Huyghue, told SI.com's Peter King.
Our View:The league will have six teams, so if Vick is suspended for the '09 season, joining one of them would allow him to be showcased for teams, so it's not out of the question that this happens. There will be a $20 million salary cap for the league, so Vick could conceivably make some nice coin. Consider him in the first round of your UFL fantasy football draft (and don't think there won't be UFL leagues).
July 8, 2008 Michael Vick has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to the Sports Network. Vick filed Chapter 11 papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday, claiming to owe between $10 and $50 million to numerous creditors. The debt includes a $3.75 million pro-rated signing bonus that the Falcons are attempting to get back.
Our View:After pleading guilty last year to supporting a Virginia-based dogfighting ring, Vick was subsequently suspended indefinitely by the NFL without pay and lost all his major corporate sponsors.
May 8, 2008 Michael Vick has been ordered to pay more than $2.5 million to the Royal Bank of Canada in a court order filed Wednesday, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted a motion for summary judgment against Vick for default and breach of a promissory note from Jan. 18, 2007. Vick was found in default of $2,421,170.90. He also must pay interest of the rate of $499 per diem from Sept. 19, 2007 from May 7, 2008 — a total of 231 days and a sum of $115,269. The order also states that Vick must pay the bank's attorneys' fees and costs in the amount of $11,950.97.
Our View:Vick is serving a 23-month sentence in federal prison for a felony conviction on charges related to dogfighting. Vick also faces dogfighting charges in the state of Virginia. A trial is scheduled for next month.
April 25, 2008 Embattled quarterback Michael Vick met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on this same weekend last year to inform him that his dogfighting issues were overblown. With Vick now serving a 23-month prison sentence for conspiring to run an interstate dogfighting operation, his agent Joel Segal met with the commissioner yesterday on behalf of his client, according to NFL.com.
Our View:Segal declined to go into any specifics, but did admit he visited Vick in jail last week and insists the quarterback is staying in shape. Vick is hoping to resume his career in 2009, after missing this season. Segal apparently was hoping to open the lines of communication with Goodell, but he did not disclose any of his conversations with the commissioner.
