Michael Vick’s new contract will benefit Falcons’ pockets
Michael Vick: He's finally out of debt.
Arthur Blank: He'll get $7.5 million, maybe more.
So if I read this correctly, Michael Vick just helped Arthur Blank move $7.5 million closer to getting a new stadium.
Vick’s new reported six-year, $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles means he should be able to clear all of the creditors listed in his original bankruptcy, which totaled about $20 million.
Not surprisingly, the biggest creditor was the Falcons. They are owed $7.5 million from his signing bonus after he defaulted on his contract. Something about dog fighting and prison. It’s all a blur now.
Our D. Orlando Ledbetter reported back in April of 2009 that Vick and the Falcons had reached a settlement on the salary cap refund, so that part of the story is not news. But this could be: Via ProFootballTalk.com, the Falcons will seek and could receive salary cap credits, which would come as Vick returns the money.
Greg Aiello, the NFL’s vice president of public relations, told Pro Football Talk via email “that such matters are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and that the question of whether the Falcons will receive cap credits is currently under review,” according to the website.
Theoretically, getting salary cap credits could give the Falcons’ a competitive advantage over other teams, albeit slight. At the very least, Blank can stash the $7.5 million in his building fund.
So does this mean even Falcons’ fans and Vick haters can acknowledge something good has come out of his comeback?
By Jeff Schultz
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251 comments Add your comment
BRW
August 31st, 2011
11:39 am
BET, So why do you read an out-of-town paper? If it’s so pitiful, get lost…..
Vick Fan
August 31st, 2011
11:44 am
You guys are crazy. Before Vick came to ATL that stadium was empty and the Falcons were a joke. Vick sold that stadium out hand over fist, if any thing Blank should do what’s right and forgive Vick of his debt. He’s only mad cause when Vick left the stadium and the Falcons went back to being a Joke until last yr. What Vick did was wrong, but what he brought to the city of ATL was a joy to watch. JMO
Gritz Blitz
August 31st, 2011
11:45 am
It was a rocky road to get here, but we are now in the best shape we have ever been. We were never going to win a Super Bowl with the old Vick at the helm. Matt Ryan’s Falcons will win the Super Bowl before Michael Vick’s Eagles.
Pat
August 31st, 2011
11:51 am
@waynester. I agree 100%. It is nice to have a QB that appreciates everything that is given to him and works hard for this city.
BET
August 31st, 2011
11:53 am
okay PeaceDog…let’s talk after week2 when MV7 sheds the Falcons poor sencondary and Ryans is picked several times…that’s what’s gonna happen. You huts are wasting your time on hate…be a fan…enjoy the games. When Matt Ryan wins…I’ll give him credit…but until then…its all hype. If the Falcon can’t run…he can’t throw….not that way with MV7…he can do it all. He has also won playoff games under a terrible coach (J. Mora). 1 game away from SB!!!
Joycee Banicheck
August 31st, 2011
11:53 am
Jeffy gets to finally write another Vick blog, he must be in hog heaven today. When’s the next Tiger blog?
League reviewing Falcons salary cap status | Atlanta Falcons
August 31st, 2011
11:54 am
[...] fine folks over at ProFootballTalk.com reported on this earlier. Jeff Schultz has a blog up on Vick maybe owing the Falcons some money. The Falcons have a “confidentiality agreement” and [...]
falconfanriseup
August 31st, 2011
11:55 am
The New stadium better be a DOME!!!!!!
Greg
August 31st, 2011
12:00 pm
Just think…we simply gave away Vick (way prematurely, and unnecessarily); then we gave away Schaub (absolutely NO reason for the latter). Bone-headed moves, both of them, especially the latter. And as I recall the latter brilliant move was down to one Thomas Dimitroff.
BET
August 31st, 2011
12:01 pm
Have you guys seen the Falcons schedule? They are certainly going to go 0-2 right out the gate…they won’t beat the Saints this year…that four loses already…Truth be told the Falcon were pretty lucky last year (part of game…I know ) but you can’t count on that and expect to win SBs
Ivan
August 31st, 2011
12:10 pm
Hopefully this means we won’t see any more Vick headlines on the Falcons blog?
tmc
August 31st, 2011
12:12 pm
Couple points:
1. Those who say if only Coach Smith or if Dan Reeves were still his coach instead of Jim Mora, MV was doing the dog thing either before he entered the NFL or immediately after. (jim mora didn’t help, but it wasn’t because of him)
2. I agree that everyone should get a second chance, Michael Vick included. He paid his time for the dog fighting wring… my problem as a Falcons fan with MV is what he did to the Atlanta Falcons franchise, Aurthur Blank and the entire organization. He put them in a position to fall to the depths of professional sports would never see before or after. It was only by the grace of god that the Falcons were able to draft Matt Ryan and rebound as fast as they did. It was NOTHING Michael Vick did or the league did to help that process.
Michael Vick didn’t give one rats behind about the organization or the fans for the affects his actions had. THAT is the biggest problem of all and what most people dismiss and why i will never root for that man again.
waynester
August 31st, 2011
12:12 pm
BET
You just keep on illustrating the difference between “Vick fans” and Falcon Fans” –they’re not necessarily the same thing. If the Falcons DO lose in week 2, it won’t be because “Vick beat us” it’ll be because the Eagles did it….
VickFan
This team went to the SB without “your guy” running the team. Blank was in the process of trying to erase the “joke” label when “your guy” temporarily demolished all the franchise’s hard-fought gains, returning us to “joke status” again for awhile. We’re now back on track thanks in large measure to a young QB who DOESN’T put himself above the team– along with a revamped lineup of similar Team-First men….
JSS
August 31st, 2011
12:13 pm
Told all of you dimwits that wanted Vick ruined that it would be at greater expense to the Falcons in regards to the Salary cap. Instead of pulling against the man getting back into the League and making it back in terms of a contract.
Realistically, the only people who still don’t get it are folks on this blog and the Ledbetter “Snarky Central” crew. I just remember to go back to the pdf’s of the day he was sentenced and the gloating that BugKiller and his ilk did that day as they buried him with multi-page juvenile rants.
You guys are taking days off of your lives trying to despise Michael Vick…
Have fun with that…
#2 and falcons overated
August 31st, 2011
12:14 pm
Gritz Blitz
you prove you don’t know jack . But you do know hate!
Chuck
August 31st, 2011
12:16 pm
Bull – Vick, after losing all his money and going to prison, has finally become the QB he was supposed to be when the Falcons drafted him.
And he had the nerve to come out and blame the Falcon’s coaching staff for this?
He finally is reviewing game film and listening to coaches – why? Because he has no choice.
He admitted that in Atlanta he was the last in the building before practice and first out the door after. His game film? He admitted he did nothing with it – he admitted that when he went home, he smoked dope with his buddies that were all living in his house, and plaid video games – oh yeah, and pursued his other passion.
But he didn’t spend any time learning the game or trying to better himself as a quarterback – and now he credits the Eagles for that change?
No Mike, you made that change because you were a penniless convict when the Eagles signed you – or rather, when Roger Goodell pushed you to Philadelphia.
Mike Vick still hasn’t accepted responsibility for his lack of development in Atlanta. He’s is still blaming Jim Mora.
PATHETIC
BET
August 31st, 2011
12:17 pm
I have NO problem with Matt Ryan win or lose…I like the guy. But let him when first…you guys are wrong…its ALWAYS the QBs team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Falcons GM overrated
August 31st, 2011
12:17 pm
Thomas Dimitroff what has he won? He just paid off SI. 100% want tobee
Falcons hologram
August 31st, 2011
12:21 pm
Chuck was Greg knapp a good QB coach? every where he has been he mess up that team QB fact!!
waynester
August 31st, 2011
12:21 pm
What has he won? try GM of the year 2 out of 3 years….
BET
August 31st, 2011
12:23 pm
BRW…I always want to know what dangerous fools are doing…that why I read AJC…keeping my eye on yall (LMFAO)
Falcons hologram
August 31st, 2011
12:24 pm
waynester that was given not won!
BET
August 31st, 2011
12:25 pm
I can hardly wait for week 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JASon
August 31st, 2011
12:25 pm
Short article. That’s right, because you have nothing to say. Michael Vick is a huge success story, that keeps getting greater. Congratulations to the Eagles, a class organization, for welcoming him and intelligently integrating him into their team.
NoWayBigChance
August 31st, 2011
12:29 pm
This is a BIG beat by the Eagles. I do not see MV7 having close to the year he had last year. Teams now remember his weaknesses and are going to blitz the hell out of him from his left side. I doubt he will play a total of 10 games this year. At least all his bills will be paid off now, $20m. If he gets the whole $100m, $10m goes to his agent. 50% to taxes ($50m), $20m to creditors. That leaves him $20m. Not bad for a convicted felon.
waynester
August 31st, 2011
12:29 pm
Nobody “gives” anybody anything in a competitive arena such as the NFL–you “earn” it based on performance. If you’ve got proof of bias in the media selection process, I’d be interested in hearing it….
kerryb
August 31st, 2011
12:30 pm
Finally something good has come to the Falcons because of Michael Vick. Nothing else ever did.
Chuck
August 31st, 2011
12:31 pm
It wouldn’t have mattered who was coaching QBs in Atlanta – Vick wasn’t listening to any of the coaches and wasn’t doing anything with the video they were sending home with him.
That’s the whole point – he could have been getting the best QB coaching of his entire career, and it wouldn’t have made any difference.
Vick was listening to nobody but himself, right up until the point the door slammed behind him at Leavenworth.
kerryb
August 31st, 2011
12:34 pm
You are so right Chuck. The dog thing was one thing but, when he admitted when he got out of prison that he really didn’t try that hard and didn’t try to really learn the playbook with Atlanta I was even more furious with him. Tell me that you have a hard time understanding the playbook but don’t tell me that you didn’t even try to learn it.
NoWayBigChance
August 31st, 2011
12:36 pm
BTW, there is NO WAY that Vick should be making more that Bres,Roethlisberger, or Rivers. Not even in the same class.
waynester
August 31st, 2011
12:36 pm
Chuck
…not to mention the ridiculous notion of any coach, any employer, anywhere being responsible for a grown man who’s being paid as a “professional” in any field…simply asinine….
waynester
August 31st, 2011
12:39 pm
chuck
The very idea that a coach or employer in any field of endeavor would be responsible for a grown man being paid as a “professional” is ridiculous and to suggest otherwise is just making excuses….
WHO DAT BLACK
August 31st, 2011
12:43 pm
HAHAHA Vick got paid!!! Take that 7 mil and get a CB.
Ivan
August 31st, 2011
12:44 pm
Vick will get injured and sit out the rest of the season. The fans will blame Andy Reid and fire him. Another “coach victim” of the one who takes all the credit and none of the blame. And no, you can’t have my crystal ball.
Robert
August 31st, 2011
12:45 pm
Michael Vick did his time and paid his debt to society. Should he be required to payback money to the ATL Falcons? Absolutely not. End of story…
PMC
August 31st, 2011
12:45 pm
I’m not sure why people prop up MV7 while crapping on the Falcons either?
cdog
August 31st, 2011
12:45 pm
GOD IS TRUELY GOOD.GOD BLESS YOU MICHAEL VICK NOW HOPE YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS CHRIST.THIS IS A BLESSING BUT REMEMBER DON’T WORSHIP MONEY.IT ONLY LAST FOR A SEASON.TREASURES YOU PUT IN HEAVEN LAST FOREVER.REMEMBER THIS EVERYONE.
PMC
August 31st, 2011
12:52 pm
I dispute peoples historical views too. The 2002 season was awesome. The win at Lambeau in the playoffs etc, then the 2003 debacle was horrible. 2004 was a very good year with limited talent before that clown JMJ and his buddy Knapp really put thier claws into the team and led them on the road to demise.
We had a good run with Mike. He screwed up and had to go make it elsewhere good for him Now I pull for Ryan. Never understood why I had to hate one guy or the other.
I’m a Falcons fan, and it’s about time they stuck it to Philly for once. I think its been 06 in the dome opener since they won.
ZDog
August 31st, 2011
12:53 pm
Schultz, you are truly, truly pitiful. As well as entirely predictable. Disgusting, actually.
Hollywould
August 31st, 2011
12:59 pm
Robert, there is your entitlement of the day. He should not have to pay money he owes because he served time in jail. Are you insane? That is how it works in real life. Of course, some people don’t believe in respect.
GetReal
August 31st, 2011
1:00 pm
Robert, You are an idiot. Just because you went to prison doens’t mean you don’t need to pay your monetary debt. If Vick was a Wall Street Executive would you feel the same way, instead of him being a black dog killing quarterback?
GetReal
August 31st, 2011
1:02 pm
You knew this was coming. In 2 weeks, Vick will be the 6th or 7th highest paid QB in the league which is STILL TOO high.
Drew Brees’ agent, Saints in talks on Contract…..
Najeh Davenpoop
August 31st, 2011
1:10 pm
“What’s the over under on games that M. Vick completes this year? Looks like he has reverted to a run first QB again”
Based on what, two half-games of preseason action?
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Hollywould
August 31st, 2011
1:15 pm
Najeh, that is based on the 2 preseason games as their offensive line sux. Go back and watch the games. Go to philly.com and read what the Eagle fans are saying. They are scared that Vick will be running because he has too. Also, his last 3-4 games last year were not very good.
Pete
August 31st, 2011
1:15 pm
Vick and his grubby, sleazy lawyers will scheme their way out of paying Blank one thin dime. Zip.
Some things never change…………..and the sleaze of that guy is one of ‘em.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 31st, 2011
1:22 pm
“And he had the nerve to come out and blame the Falcon’s coaching staff for this?”
Oh for the love of God. Let’s see how well Matt Ryan — or any other quarterback for that matter — does if he has to playfake a shotgun draw before every pass, long after the defense has stopped falling for it. Let’s see how well they do if they see seven rushers at the line with five people in to block and their coaches don’t let them audible to a different play. Let’s see how well they do if every other playcall asks for them to naked bootleg away from their protection. Posts like this make me feel sad that I have been preaching the truth about Jim Moron and company on these blogs for seven years and people still haven’t got the message.
Jim Moron, Greg Knapp and Ed Donatell are all out of football. Donatell’s last defensive coordinator job was with the University of Washington when they not so coincidentally went winless. Knapp’s last offensive coordinator job was with the Raiders when he oversaw the “development” of JaMarcus Russell; he left after that to be Matt Schaub’s QB coach and oversaw Schaub’s completion percentage fall 4 percentage points. Moron had one more coaching job in the NFL as the Seahawks’ coach, leading them to a 5-11 record in football’s worst division, and after he was replaced by a guy who hadn’t coached in the NFL in over 10 years the Seahawks made the playoffs and upset the defending champs.
That three-headed monster not only wrecked the start of Vick’s career; they also held Roddy White’s development back by White’s own admission. In fact, name one player who got better under their watch. I bet you can’t. They are not only the worst coaching staff the Falcons have had in my lifetime; they might be the worst coaches Atlanta has had, period. Vick without them is an MVP candidate. They, without Vick, are NOTHING.
DScottGT91
August 31st, 2011
1:27 pm
Never forget who or WHAT Michael Vick is….. He willfully participated in the torture and killing of dogs by hanging them and drowning them. THIS IS WHAT SERIAL KILLERS DO. There is no “cultural” justification for those actions. Not even the strongest supporters of dog fighting would say those actions are part of their “culture.”
NEVER FORGET…….
Greg Moundine
August 31st, 2011
1:27 pm
How about putting that $7.5 million toward a corner!
DHD
August 31st, 2011
1:28 pm
The Vick article of the day. Amazing. It never ends.