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Shutdown Corner

Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:41 pm EDT

Michael Vick's post-prison job prospects look pretty good

By MJD

Most guys in Cell Block D don't have a plan this good, but most guys in Cell Block D aren't Mike Vick.

Michael Huyghue, the commissioner of the upstart United Football League, which plans to start play in 2009, is chomping at the big to throw millions at Vick. He sees Vick as the star attraction of his soon-to-be fledgling league.

From Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback:

The big news, I suppose, from my talk with Huyghue was this: He said the chances of a UFL team signing Michael Vick to play the 2009 season are "98 percent.'' Strange percentage, but that's what he said.

"Michael's not going to be able to walk right back into the NFL,'' Huyghue said. "He's going to need some kind of buffer before he signs in the NFL, and we'll be able to provide that for him.''

I don't know if Vick's going to need a buffer or not, but he is going to need cash. And I can't see any NFL team giving him more than the veteran's minimum, whereas the UFL could conceivably pay him in the neighborhood of $4 million a year. The prestige of being an NFL player is nice, but not being broke is probably a higher priority.

And it would be completely worth it for the UFL, too, even if Vick is never the player he once was. The attention and curiosity he'll generate is something they won't be able to get from any other player, I don't care who they pluck off an NFL roster.

Related: NFL Criminal Behavior

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3748 Comments

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  1. Turtle
    1. Posted by Turtle Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    I hope he plays on a team with stripes....or named the Bulldogs.
  2. yodarkis
    2. Posted by yodarkis Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:11 pm EDT

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    he did his time now let him live thanks vick for not being a rat love yody
  3. PIT BULL VICIOUS
    3. Posted by PIT BULL VICIOUS Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:48 pm EDT

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    Raiders will take him.Al Davis loves this kid!!!!
  4. Keith
    4. Posted by Keith Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:50 pm EDT

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    i cant wait to see vick back in the NFL
  5. stockholmsyndrome24
    5. Posted by stockholmsyndrome24 Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:45 pm EDT

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    Haha the second Vick returns to the NFL is the second everyone starts going to games with posters of dead dogs. I say the UFL takes Culpepper too, he's not landing a starting NFL position anytime soon. Take David Carr too and see if you can talk Ryan Leaf out of retirement haha.
  6. Perk
    6. Posted by Perk Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:18 pm EDT

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    He got to muck time as it is. If a man can hunt and fish as a sport and kill animals then whats the big deal over dogs. How do you justify on animal over the other. Not every animal killed in sport is for eating, so then it's murder. Let the man out. It ain't like he killed a man or anything. It was no right what he did, but not worth the time or the drama.
  7. QB the Great
    7. Posted by QB the Great Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:23 pm EDT

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    UFL? Hmmm.....i don't know. But for the right amount of cash, anything is possible. Vick WILL be back on someone's NFL roster......gauranteed!
  8. shwtime_1987
    8. Posted by shwtime_1987 Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    This is in response to # 7.....when we hunt we kill to eat....Do you ever see hunters staging deer fights for their amusement....obviously you have no clue on morales!! I assure you that you never read the fine print on the issues with the Vick dog fighting ring as the conditions the animals were in and the way they were killed was horendous....not like hunting where its a single bullet that ends life immediatly!
  9. Seemore B
    9. Posted by Seemore B Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:40 pm EDT

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    #7 makes perfect sense to me.
  10. Javier R
    10. Posted by Javier R Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    he is still suspended by the NFL and it will be a big mess if roger goodell activates him right after getting out of prison, therefore his option would be to apply for reinstatement and sign with an UFL team for the meantime, with that money he can get another house, another ring and another 60+ dogs
  11. z24hrman
    11. Posted by z24hrman Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:58 pm EDT

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    #7 Dog's got personality... Personality counts!
  12. thebestisyettocum
    12. Posted by thebestisyettocum Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:03 pm EDT

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    Nobody mention the illegal gambling... That's what got him.
  13. theMike
    13. Posted by theMike Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:17 pm EDT

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    Vick does not deserve the privilege of being paid to play a sport ever again, I don't care how much talent he has! He should now be forced to see what it's like to work for a living.
  14. Daniel
    14. Posted by Daniel Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:46 pm EDT

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    The NFL is a business, businesses make money. Mike is a money maker. He can pack any statium. There are going to be folk who carry that grudge for him until he starts winning then all the talk except for a handful of nay sayers will die out. They talked about Ray Lewis and the stabbing incident until he started winning. Theu booed Ty Cobb after he beat a man half to death with a bat until he started hitting 'em outta da park. Mike will get back, do his thing, and everybody will get there money's worth for their tickets...
  15. TMAN
    15. Posted by TMAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    Like 14 said, it was the gambling charges that got him, not the dogs. The dogs were a PR nightmare, nothing more.
  16. King Kanoe
    16. Posted by King Kanoe Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:02 pm EDT

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    I agree with #7. An animal is an animal and shouldn't be equal to humans.
  17. Patrick J
    17. Posted by Patrick J Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:14 pm EDT

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    That's exactly why this crap keeps going on. People keep paying money to see these circus freaks. The NFL and other leagues don't give a squat about presenting good role models, they just want the money. Would you want your 9-year old to have this piece of garbage as a role model? Good luck with that. I can't imagine any team taking this guy on for fear that the boycotting would send them into bankruptcy. Of course there's a lot of screwballs out there who'll pay just to see him walk on the field but they're just scum like he is.
  18. DD
    18. Posted by DD Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:23 pm EDT

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    First and foremost I do not agree with dog fighting, but even a blind and ignorant person can see that there was a double standard used in this case. To number 15: shame on you, show some respect for yourself. To number 16: its obvious that you have never competed in a sport or maintained a physical workout regiment. Just because its entertainment to us does not mean that it is not a real job. I am 32 years old and i played professional baseball for 7 years and now I am a consultant. I worked just as hard then as i do now; the first was physical and the other mental. Number 17; you are absolutely correct. This is America, and we like to be entertained. We pay good money to be entertained in what ever way we would like to be.
  19. jason B
    19. Posted by jason B Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:29 pm EDT

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    sorry 4 that all dogs arent worthless jus pit bulls who lose and dogs who have no will to live
  20. Charlie S
    20. Posted by Charlie S Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:58 pm EDT

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    I feel the Vick was treated unfairly. The Animal society created a media nightmare. Vick was found guilty even before his trial..Let him play he has suffered enough.
  21. MIQUEL
    21. Posted by MIQUEL Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:17 pm EDT

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    He will be back in the NFL with no delay but not with the money he was making but if the UFL wants to pay him that money why not build himself up then go back to the NFL....OH Yeah what vick did was wrong but there's people on the street right now who did worst it was all about plubicity and money...Vick keep your head up....
  22. mark c
    22. Posted by mark c Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:54 pm EDT

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    Vick been puttin spit on other inmates privates what iz been told. He is looking for a career in gay porn.
  23. DD
    23. Posted by DD Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:23 pm EDT

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    Number 20: What parent actually looks to a pro sport to provide a role model to his/her kids? When I was a kid i loved Magic Johnson, but he wasnt my role model, my dad was. When Magic turned up positive, I wasnt upset or let down. Maybe you should start up a role models league, and that will suredly go bankrupt. Stop watching sports and looking for someone to look up to. Look up to your parents or relatives or church officials or community leaders. Start watching sports for the enjoyment and excitement of competition, teamwork, and physical athleticism.
  24. kedam
    24. Posted by kedam Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:48 pm EDT

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    There are ten teams in the league right now who doesn't have as good a QB as cell block D has. Give me
    a break he'll play immediately
  25. a b
    25. Posted by a b Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:36 pm EDT

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    I'm a dog lover so I have no sympathy for what happened to Mike Vick... But lets not forget what this guy could do on the field... Since he was locked up everybody pretends like all those stats were a fluke and this guy isn't qualified to quarterback a flag team... You could make arguements for the distraction factor, but this is a guy that's thrown 2000 plus yards, not to mention that scrambling style thats become so fashionable in modern QB's... My question is, if Vick was such a [profane]ty player, why were the Falcons thrown into dissary when he was gone?... As I said, Vick deserved the jailtime he got for running a dogfighting operation... It's a cruel crime to commit... But that has nothing to do with what he did on the field...

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