Future in NFL? Only time will tell

By Paul Newberry , Associated Press

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Jay Paul / Bloomberg News

Billy Martin, lead attorney for Michael Vick, with the signs of animal lovers in the background, speaks with the media in Richmond, Va., after his client was sentenced for up to 23 months in prison.

Nick Wass / Associated Press

Michael Vick

Dayna Verkouteren / Associated Press

An artist's rendering shows Michael Vick, dressed in a black-and-white prison attire, while being sentenced.

Michael Vick knows where he'll be spending most of the next two years, locked away in a federal prison, doing his time for dogfighting.

Once he's a free man, what comes next?

"No one knows," said Dan Reeves, who was Vick's first pro coach with the Atlanta Falcons. "A lot depends on him and what he does with these next two years. I don't know if anybody knows what's going to happen. Either he comes out a better person or he comes out a bitter person."

It's impossible to predict what might happen two years from now. Most seem to believe Vick will at least get a second chance in the NFL after his 23-month sentence, assuming he keeps his nose clean in prison and comes out with the proper amount of remorse for taking part in a gruesome dogfighting ring.

But one thing seems certain: Vick won't get his second chance with the Falcons.

The team kept him on the roster only while it pursues efforts to recover nearly $20 million in bonus money. The Falcons already won the first round of the legal fight, which has gone to a federal judge in Minnesota, and owner Arthur Blank's statements have made it obvious he is unlikely to return.

Blank predicts Vick will miss three full seasons. And commissioner Roger Goodell has not indicated when he will lift the suspension.

As to whether or not he can play football again, Blank said: "If Michael makes a mistake and eats fried chicken and French fries in prison every day and comes out at 250 pounds, he's not going to be able to play football. How he's able to keep himself in shape, stay athletically tuned and mentally tuned, I don't know."

Former Dallas Cowboys talent evaluator Gil Brandt wonders if Vick might be better suited for another position when he comes out of prison.

"I don't think there's any question, whether it's 2009 or 2010, that somebody will take a chance on him," Brandt said. "I'm not sure that somebody will take a chance on him as a quarterback. I think it would be a lot easier for him to come back at a different position."

Reeves believes Vick can come back. Even if he misses three full years, he would be 30 entering the 2010 season.

"I don't think he would lose his ability to throw the football," Reeves said.

Verdict's in: up to 23 months

Michael Vick was sentenced in Richmond, Va., to prison Monday for running a dogfighting operation and will stay there longer than two co-defendants, up to 23 months, because he lied about his involvement when he was supposed to be coming clean to the judge who would decide his fate.

The disgraced quarterback received a harsher sentence than the others in the federal conspiracy case because of "less than truthful" statements about killing pit bulls.

Vick said he accepted responsibility for his actions, but U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said he wasn't so sure.

"I'm not convinced you've fully accepted responsibility," Hudson told Vick, who voluntarily surrendered Nov. 19 to begin serving his sentence early.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for a term of 18 months to two years. But in addition to initially lying about his role in killing dogs, Hudson noted, Vick tested positive for marijuana use in violation of the terms set for his release, then gave conflicting accounts about when he used the drug.

Two co-defendants were sentenced Nov. 30. Purnell Peace got 18 months, while Quanis Phillips received 21.

Moment of truth

After pleading guilty in August, Vick continued to contend others, not he, killed pit bulls that did not test well as fighting dogs, a fact that in the end cost him a longer sentence.

But in October, after being grilled by an FBI agent for five hours, Vick finally admitted he "hung" a dog, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

During that interview, an FBI polygrapher found Vick was being deceptive in denying he killed dogs. After Vick's lead lawyer, Billy Martin, was told this, he asked Vick about the failed test. At that moment, Martin told Hudson, Vick broke down.

"I did it all," Vick said, Martin related. "I did everything. If you need me to say more, I'll say more."

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill, Vick then told the polygrapher, "I carried a dog over to Quanis Phillips, who tied a rope around its neck. I dropped the dog."

Message from Vick

Defense attorney Lawrence Woodward said the former Falcons quarterback didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him.

"He just wants a chance to prove himself when all this is over," he said. "But the other thing he said to me, which I also think is important for everyone to know, is that he understood that some of the things he was doing in life and off the field were dangerous, and he told me he feels lucky that he's alive and not hurt and now it's all about the future."

Financial cost

$142 million is the financial burden incurred by Vick because of his legal situation, according to numbers compiled by Tim Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The breakdown:

* $71 million in salary for the final seven seasons of his Falcons contract, which the team is expected to terminate when salary-cap ramifications are resolved.

* $50 million in endorsement income lost during the next decade, according to an estimate by the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

* 19.97 million in previously paid bonuses an arbitrator has ruled the Falcons can recoup from Vick (a ruling currently being reviewed by U. S. District Judge David Doty in Minneapolis).

* $928,073 put into an escrow account, as part of the plea agreement, to fund the care of about 54 pit bulls found on Vick's property.

* 5,100 fine and special assessment imposed at the sentencing.

* Total: $141,903,173.

Note: Vick has been sued by three banks for alleged defaults on a total of $5.8 million in loans.

NFL reaction

* Arthur Blank, Falcons owner, in an interview on the team's Web site on whether Vick could play for Atlanta again: "I would never use the work 'never.' I would say there's always a chance. But quite candidly, we as an organization, as a football team, we have to look forward. We have to go forward assuming Michael will not be back."

* Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Colts coach: "I'm just hoping that Michael can take that penalty and move forward and come back, recapture his career and his direction. And it can send a message to young people again, that I've made mistakes and will pay my penalty."

* Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, when asked is Vick will be allowed to play again: "That's a determination we'll make later on. As I said earlier when we suspended him indefinitely, we would evaluate that when the legal process was closed."

College coach hopeful

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, Vick's college coach, said the case is one of "a good person with a good heart who used bad judgment and made mistakes."

"He understands that," Beamer said. "What I think is good about today is we have a time frame for him to pay for his mistakes. Now, it's time for him to continue working to get his life back in order.

"I've got every hope and belief that's what is going to take place, and that we will have a successful end to this story."

They said it

"People that are involved in this blood sport are on notice. You can throw your life away by being involved in this."

John Goodwin, of the Humane Society of the United States on Vick's sentencing

"Mr. Vick in life had numbed himself to a lot of events around him. That was, in a sense, his way of surviving,"

Billy Martin, Vick's lead attorney, who said Vick has been diagnosed as clinically depressed.