NFL - Are You Ready For Some Football?! - Off Season

[SlowwHand]

Why would the Eagles use the franchise tag on him if he wants to stay?

The Philadelphia Eagles will use their franchise tag on Michael Vick next month, a league source said Sunday, ensuring the quarterback will be back for the 2011 season.

Vick, who enjoyed a breakout 2010 campaign, repeatedly has said he wants to stay in Philadelphia.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81e00031/article/eagles-will-keep-vick-for-2011-by-placing-franchise-tag-on-him?module=HP_headlines2col

[ColdWizard]

In case they can't come to an agreement on the financial details.

[Al B. Sure!]

Also, that way they don't have to be tied to Vick with a long-term deal.

That's exactly what's been expected for a while now. The Eagles will probably now keep Kolb and intend for him to be the long-term QB while seeing how Vick will do next year, with a lot less risk of being tied long-term to Vick.

[rah]

Without taking into account what a NEW CBA might bring, just what kind of risk are you really talking about in the days of non-guaranteed contracts. As a free agent would Vick be offered more than the average of the top 5 quarterback salaries in the league? How much more would be guaranteed upfront money? But currently it's part of the agreement so Philly should have the right to place the tag on him. He has a right to be irritated but he's not exactly a PR golden child and should know he'd be better off just to keep his trap shut.

[Al B. Sure!]

Without taking into account what a NEW CBA might bring, just what kind of risk are you really talking about in the days of non-guaranteed contracts. As a free agent would Vick be offered more than the average of the top 5 quarterback salaries in the league? How much more would be guaranteed upfront money? But currently it's part of the agreement so Philly should have the right to place the tag on him. He has a right to be irritated but he's not exactly a PR golden child and should know he'd be better off just to keep his trap shut.

Huh? Who said anything about Vick being irritated?

[Al B. Sure!]

Really interesting how rah just assumed Vick was irritated with being tagged and that he needs to keep his 'trap shut' when Vick has said nothing. In fact, his lack of a deal a few weeks ago was responded with patience according to the above link,

"We'll see what happens over the next couple months," he said earlier in the week as he prepared to play in his fourth Pro Bowl. "I just got to be patient and take it day by day."

Interesting that the assumption is that Vick is taking issue with the tagging...

Things that make you say hmmm? Hmmm indeed, rah.

[Al B. Sure!]

The fact of the matter is, Vick was in prison only two years ago and was making peanuts by NFL standards the past two years. To suddenly catapult to top-5 QB money is incredible for him. Unfortunately, he lost a crapload of money during his time in prison (it is amazing how family, friends, and advisors essentially robbed him blind during his time in prison, not to mention creditors; read some articles about where Vick's money went during his time in prison), and it's amazing just how little of his income he can spend. He's restrained by the courts to a small stipend while the rest of his money pays off lawyers' fees and debts.

Where his salary goes

Two-thirds of every dollar Vick earns goes to creditors and taxes.

The rest of the money is strictly controlled. Think of it as an allowance.

Vick can spend $4,250 per month on rent and utilities and $472 per month on a car. His mother, who was on Vick's payroll during his headier, pre-prison days, can receive $2,500 per month.

Other obligations Vick owes include mortgages, child support, fees for his agent (who gets $800,000 through 2015) and for his tax lawyers (who will eventually receive a total of $2.6 million). The allowance does allow for Vick to pay $1,355 per month for private school for the two children he has with his fiancee, Kijafa Frink. (Munson calls it a "rare bit of extravagance.")

His creditors stand to receive $12 million through 2015, provided Vick continues to receive a multi-million dollar salary.

The more money Vick makes, the more money goes to creditors. A salary under $2.5 million would force Vick to pay 25 percent. That percentage jumps to 40 if Vick signs a deal worth $10 million or more per season.

As for how he got into this mess to begin with (well besides the dogfighting):

ESPN article on the loss of Vick's fortune

As he faced a federal investigation last summer into a dogfighting kennel that he founded and funded, Michael Vick also was looking for help in a fight to preserve a financial empire he had tried to build as one of the NFL's highest-paid players.

Banks in Toronto; South Bend, Ind., and Charlotte, N.C., demanded repayment of more than $6 million in loans used to finance a car rental business, a wine enterprise and other ventures. A sports marketing company that he hired and fired even before he was drafted in 2001 hounded him for another $5 million in lost fees. And he faced breach of contract charges on two other deals.

"Even without the dogfighting case, Michael had been the victim of some very flawed advice by a number of professionals who were supposed to know what they were doing and were supposed to be helping him," observed Peter Ginsberg, the nationally renowned bankruptcy lawyer who is trying to preserve what little remains of Vick's net worth.

Ginsberg might be right. A review of bankruptcy court records and other litigation filed against Vick shows a remarkable series of blunders and thefts that could leave Vick insolvent even if he manages to retain the bonuses the Falcons and the NFL are trying to take back from him.

It's a sad story that begins in his final weeks at Virginia Tech and reaches points of crisis during the dogfighting prosecution and even now during his incarceration in Leavenworth, Kan. It involves two financial advisers who have been charged with major frauds and a sports marketing adviser who charged Vick 25 percent of all marketing fees earned.
With his finances deteriorating, Vick admitted guilt in the dogfighting scheme, hoping to minimize his time in jail. But federal agents demanded nearly $1 million in restitution for rescuing and caring for nearly 60 dogs they found in Vick's kennel. If he failed to pay the bills for the dogs, Vick faced additional prison time.

Demorrio Williams, one of Vick's ex-teammates on the Falcons, might not have helped with his recommendation of a business manager.

Despite earning more than $20 million in NFL bonuses, Vick could not find the money. In desperation, he turned to a Falcons teammate, linebacker Demorrio Williams.

Williams recommended Mary Wong, a 40-ish business manager in Omaha, Neb., who had helped Williams manage his money and his accounts.

Wong worked quickly to gather the restitution money, cashing in a retirement investment with Lloyd's of London and persuading a bank to lend Vick more money. That put together just enough money to pay the restitution.

It was a good start for Vick. But, according to papers filed in his bankruptcy, it did not last.

In addition to gathering the restitution funds, Wong used a power of attorney from Vick to "wrongfully remove" at least another $900,000 from his various accounts, according to a document filed by Ginsberg. And, court papers also say, Wong "caused certain business entities owned by [Vick] to be transferred to her."

While in the Leavenworth minimum security camp, Vick began to suspect Wong was doing something wrong. He discovered that Wong had been permanently barred from working with any firm that traded on the New York Stock Exchange as the result of taking more than $150,000 from two elderly widows she met while working at Wells Fargo Investments.

The charges against Wong by the NYSE, which regulates brokers and financial advisers, include taking $147,000 from one widow to invest in a chicken restaurant. There was no restaurant, and the money landed in Wong's personal account, according to the NYSE, which also says she took almost $9,000 from Williams' account to reimburse the other widow. She claimed she had lent Williams the money to buy rims for a truck.
The arbitrators who reviewed Wong's conduct deplored her "deceitful, fraudulent and shameful" actions against her customers and were "appalled" at her "implausible, convoluted explanations for her plainly wrongful actions." That is remarkably strong language in the polite world of investment counselors.

Did Vick learn anything from his experience with Wong? Maybe. Maybe not.

He next turned to David A. Talbot, a medical school graduate from Hackensack, N.J., who claimed to have expertise in financial management. After a series of visits with Vick in Leavenworth, Talbot managed to convince estimable bankruptcy attorney Ginsberg that he was legitimate. Ginsberg asked the bankruptcy court to allow Talbot to manage Vick's affairs and to authorize Talbot to seek redress against all those who had defrauded Vick. Using the jargon of the bankruptcy system, Talbot was to be Vick's "responsible person."

It seemed to be a good idea, as Vick is in jail and unable to tend to his financial situation. But it was yet another bad decision for Vick.

Talbot started by taking one of Vick's cars, an $85,000 Mercedes Benz, to use in his efforts, and he used $35,000 to pay the out-of-pocket expenses of his attempts to find Vick's money.

That wasn't all. He was to be paid $15,000 per month for his efforts, too.

Talbot earned his "responsible person" status with an impressive résumé that described a life of success, emphasized his marketing and motivating skills, and listed his noteworthy clients.

The centerpiece of the Talbot résumé was his work as a "regional director" for the National Association of Self-Employed, a group that offers insurance benefits to small businesses and lobbies for their interests in Washington. He claimed he ran a $375 million organization and presided over "240 agents and 40 managers."

"We do not have any regional directors," a spokesman for NASE told ESPN.com. "He could not have been a regional director. Our records indicate that he was briefly a salesman for us. That is all."

Others listed as references on Talbot's résumé offered similar stories. Joe Franklin, a New York radio personality listed as a Talbot client, told ESPN.com, "I knew David's father. He has never represented me, and I haven't seen him in years."

Kenneth Moore, a rookie wide receiver drafted in the fifth round by the Detroit Lions, also was listed as a Talbot client. Moore's agent, Alan Herman, said, "Moore's only connection with David Talbot is that Moore knows Talbot's daughter from their days together at Wake Forest. Talbot does not represent Kenny in any way."

Another supposed Talbot client listed on a résumé that Talbot prepared in 2007 is Ron Jensen, a businessman who was CEO of a publicly held insurance company. Jensen died in a car accident in 2005.
In addition to the apparently false statements in his résumé, Talbot last week was accused of securities fraud in New Jersey in a scheme that ended just before he started visiting Vick in Leavenworth. Talbot and his cohorts, according to a legal action filed by New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, managed to "defraud" several investors of more than $500,000 by offering them "asset enhancement contracts" that were touted as being guaranteed to pay between 12 to 35 percent per week.

The investment and the profits, Talbot told his investors, would allow them to build a new church they were planning in Wyckoff, N.J. To ensure the success of the venture, Talbot orchestrated "conference call prayer meetings" asking a higher power to bless their venture.

The money never made it to the church, and none of the investors collected any dividends, much less the promised 12-35 percent per week. The money, according to New Jersey authorities, went to Talbot and his son, Jonathon, to pay rent and Time Warner Cable and for purchases at Best Buy, Bergdorf Goodman and other retailers.

Talbot has not responded to calls from ESPN.com. His attorney said that Talbot is a victim of the scheme himself, then would not comment further.

Read the article for more to see what became of Vick's millions. Vick was robbed blind by crooks both as a free man and as an inmate.

[-Jrabbit]

Wow, it's way worse than I had heard. Dogpiled by financial opportunists and thieves...

[Lord Avalon]

They saw Vick as a gravy train.

[Al B. Sure!]

The thing is, notice how he was introduced to Wong through Domorrio Williams and Wong is mentioned in the article as having stole a few thousand from Williams as well according to the NYSE, although who knows how much more she might have robbed from him. I would expect that this stuff is widespread in professional sports. Think about all the 20 and 21 year olds (or even 18 year olds in other sports) who are suddenly given millions and they don't know what to do with it. Usually, you think they're squandering their millions on parties and dumb **** but they could be given up money to the Bernie Madoff's of the world thinking that they're being smart and investing. Vick had a crapload of ventures (restaurants, thoroughbreds, car rental shop, etc.) and he probably figured he was being advised by competent people even when he was a free man on top the world and able to oversee everything.

Then, the fact that Vick had so much money and was in prison and couldn't see what was going on, made him even easier pickings.


Not only that, but his family appears to have taken advantage of him as well. Again, young guys with millions and many, like Vick, come from poor backgrounds... it's so easy to see them being taken advantage of by family.

[Al B. Sure!]

Here's some numbers from ESPN's Rick Reilly, with the jokes removed:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3726426

With apologies to Harper's Index …

Amount jailed star quarterback Michael Vick spent from July '06 to July '08, according to recent bankruptcy papers: $17.7 million. Amount of that time he was in prison: 8 months.

Total amount of checks he wrote his mother, Brenda Boddie—not counting all her bills he paid—even while in prison: $21,400.

Amount he donated to her church: $327,900.
Amount he gave her for an Easter egg hunt: $700.

Amount of the check he wrote to Boddie labeled "chump change": $1,000.

Amount Vick was sentenced to pay to house and care for the 47 pit bulls he and his buddies didn't drown, strangle, hang, shoot, or electrocute for not winning fights: $928,073.

Average pay, per hour, of Vick's pit bulls' caregivers at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah: $14.

Number of cars Vick owned at one time: 9, including the '07 Land Rover for his fiancée; the '07 Cadillac Escalade for his fiancée's mother; the '07 Land Rover for his brother Marcus; the '08 Mercedes Benz for his financial advisor, David Talbot; the '06 Cadillac DTS for his pal Rodney White; and the '07 Ford F-150 he drove himself.

Ironic name of the Lincoln Mercury dealership Vick continues to make car payments to, despite sitting in jail: Freedom.

Sticker price of the '07 Infiniti Vick bought for his fiancée to keep in Leavenworth so she has something to drive while visiting him in prison: $65,000.
Cost of a cab from the Kansas City airport to the prison: $60.

Amount Charles Reamon, Jr., a friend Vick put in charge of his finances while in prison, went through: over $3 million.

Percent of that money accounted for: 0.

Amount New York bankruptcy attorney Peter Ginsberg alleges Vick's business manager Mary Wong "wrongfully removed" from Vick's accounts: $900,000.
Percent of that money accounted for: 0.

Number of Vick's financial advisors who wound up being charged for fraud in unrelated cases: 1.

Number of boats Vick owned at one time: 2.
Number of racehorses he had an interest in at one time: 5.
Number of his racehorses that died of colic: 1.
Money invested in that horse: $60,000.
Name of man who takes care of his horses: Unknown to Vick.
Amount he's paid man who takes care of his horses: $0.

Amount mysteriously categorized as "miscellaneous" over two years: $3.5 million.

Amount Vick took as "cash out": $1,112,664.
Number of $400 ATM withdraws, including $2.50 service charge, that would require: 2,764.
Number of ATMs in Leavenworth penitentiary: 0.

Vick's ongoing cost to support his fiancée, their two daughters, his brother, his mother, a former girlfriend and his son with her, per month: $20,000.

Amount Vick still owes banks in Toronto, South Bend, and Charlotte, for loans he took to invest in a car rental franchise, a wine store/restaurant, and other businesses: $6 million.

Total amount listed as "loan payment" over two years: $33,523.

Amount of judgment against Vick that he still owes former agent Andrew Joel: $4.5 million.

Amount Vick still owes the Atlanta Falcons from his signing bonus: $3.75 million.

Amount the NFL attempted to recoup from Vick's bonus money: $16.25 million.

Essential question about Vick now after ruining his life—with bountiful help from leaching family, friends, advisors, agents and his own Hindenburg instincts: Can the chump change?

[Donegeal]

Sounds to me like Al is trying (and failing) to imply that Rah is racist. To me, is sounds like Rah is implying that Vick is a top NFL player getting the franchise tag (ie: they all usually get upset because they think they are worth more).

[rah]

Actually I heard on ESPN 1000 in Chicago that the talking heads were saying that Vick had stated that he would be upset if they used the tag on him. Reading the headlines today it seems that Vick is mouthing the corporate pablum so I wonder where they got that from. My comments were wondering why he would be pissed since it would guarantee him so much.

[Al B. Sure!]

Actually I heard on ESPN 1000 in Chicago that the talking heads were saying that Vick had stated that he would be upset if they used the tag on him. Reading the headlines today it seems that Vick is mouthing the corporate pablum so I wonder where they got that from. My comments were wondering why he would be pissed since it would guarantee him so much.

Yeah where did they get that from? Exactly.

Everyone seems to jump to conclusions to paint people in bad ways. It's interesting.

It's like when Gilbert Arenas brought a gun into the locker-room from what turned out to be a bad practical joke taken too far and the media was quick to lambast a guy who never committed a crime in his life until that point as a no-good thug. That disgusted me.

[MRT144]

Yeah where did they get that from? Exactly.

Everyone seems to jump to conclusions to paint people in bad ways. It's interesting.

It's like when Gilbert Arenas brought a gun into the locker-room from what turned out to be a bad practical joke taken too far and the media was quick to lambast a guy who never committed a crime in his life until that point as a no-good thug. That disgusted me.

Anyone that doesn't love gilbert arenas can go to hell.