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Monday, August 29, 2011

$100 Million Man

After a Pro Bowl season in 2010,
the Philadelphia Eagles signed
starting QB Michael Vick to a
six-year, $100 million contact.
Michael Vick just became one of the NFL's richest men. 
Earlier today the Philadelphia Eagles signed the 31-year-old to a six-year, $100 million contract, according to ESPN. That's quite the turnaround from the 18 months he spent in federal prison, tacked on to the fact that at one point last season he was reduced to the third-string QB for the Eagles. Thanks to an injury to now-Arizona Cardinal Kevin Kolb, Vick eventually worked his way into the starting rotation and helped lead Philly to the NFC Championship game.
Apparently Vick's 8-3 record as the starter and his play down the stretch convinced the Eagles front office to extend his contract and reward him with $16.6 million per year, but does it really make sense?
The former Atlanta Falcon compiled career-highs with 3,018 yards passing, 21 touchdown throws, nine rushing scores, a 62.6 completion percentage and a 100.2 passer rating. That being said, he played like one of the top signal-callers in the league and now he's getting paid like one.
Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning will make a league-high $23 million next season, while New England's Tom Brady and the Rams' Sam Bradford will make $18 million and $18.4 million, respectively. Manning and Brady have established themselves as two of the best quarterbacks in the league, and Bradford is still just 23 years old and well on his way. 
But the most important thing that separates Vick from Manning and Brady is a SuperBowl ring. Vick has never shown the ability to lead a team from start to finish, so investing the next six years in this guy is puzzling. Who knows though, Vick proved some of his doubters wrong with his exceptional play last season.
But everyone knows, no matter how improved his passing may have been last year, Vick is known for the plays he can make with his quick feet. He's not getting any younger - or faster - and is no stranger to injuries. All it takes is one step in the wrong direction and bam, Vick could be out for weeks or even miss the entire season. The Eagles also didn't protect their passer very well, which led to 34 sacks on Vick last year.
Personally, I believe he has only two or three years of great play left in the tank before he starts to break down. Eagles coach Andy Reid should also receive a lot of the credit for putting Vick in the right situations to succeed, but how long until teams start learning how to play defense against Philadelphia? 
Then again, Vick was great for the Eagles last season, and there's no arguing that. Time will tell whether this was a good move on the Eagles' part, but for the next six years, Vick has a home in Philadelphia. And with $100 million coming to his bank account, he'll probably have more than one.


10 comments:

  1. does he get paid the 100mil upfront, or is he paid in small amounts over the 6 years?

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  2. "Small" amounts over the 6 years as long as he keeps playing. Weekly paychecks just like everyday jobs, which add up to $100 million over 6 years. And I should have mentioned it in the post, but $40 million is guaranteed to him. So if he only plays for a year, gets hurt and can't play anymore, the team still owes him a minimum of $40 million.

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  3. i need to change careers please........

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  4. That's a crazy amount of money...

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  5. thats pretty good money for an ex-con

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  6. Now I now what im going to when I grow up! Screw engineers. NFL, here i Come :D

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  7. They don't care who he is as long as he can run and return the investment.

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  8. Haha, I bet most 31 year olds dream of a salary that huge!

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  9. Wow, that's a lot of money

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