Michael Vick gets $100 million from the Philadelphia Eagles

How high are the Philadelphia Eagles going to fly during the 2011 NFL season we can’t tell you, for it is going to be up to Michael Vick’s left hand to mark the way once again. Last campaign he led them as high an East Conference Championship with an 8-3 record in 11 games. His great performance didn’t go unaware by the Associated Press, who awarded him as the Comeback Player of the Year, and neither by the Eagles, otherwise they wouldn’t have offered Vick a 6-year deal. Vick’s new deal is worth $100 million, containing roughly 40% guaranteed, which confirms his condition as the franchise player, after being designated in February. The Pro Bowl quarterback becomes this way one of the highest players in the league, and completes his comeback after paying 21 months in federal prison for promoting dog fighting. After arriving in 2009 as the third-string QB and not seeing much action, Donovan McNabb’s transfer to the Washington Redskins left Kevin Kolb as his only obstacle to become the starter in 2010. In the season opener game Kolb suffered a concussion that gave Vick the chance to prove that his career was far from over, and since that moment he has been the leader of this team. A $100M deal isn’t something new for the 31-year-old Pro Bowler, who in 2004 had signed a 10-year contract extension with the Atlanta Falcons worth $130M, which was lost when he was imprisoned in August 2007, for the Falcons demanded reimbursement. Not only has Vick refloated his career, but also his image after being implicated in illegal dog fighting. Having obtained 29 ½ out of 50 votes possible in his election as the AP 2010 NFL Comeback Player of the Year is a great sign of it. Last season he missed just three games due to injury, which didn’t keep him from setting career highs in yards passing (3,018), touchdowns passing (21), touchdowns rushing (9), completion percentage (62.6), and passer rating (100.2). The left-handed QB completed this way his best year since his arrival to the league in the 2001 as the No. 1 draft pick. Eagles head coach Andy Reid thinks that Vick had done a lot of hard work “both on and off the field,” therefore this long-term contract is product of that effort, and he has “no doubt in my mind that he will continue on that path.” Reid also had words of appreciation for team President Joe Banner and Vick’s sports agent, Joel Segal, for making things happen. His new deal is a boost for the upcoming season, one where Vick will have more options in wide receivers Steve Smith and Jeremy Maclin to attack rivals vertically, stretching the field and serving as a complement for DeSean Jackson. The Eaglee season opener game will be against the St. Louis Rams on September 9 at Edward Jones Dome, day that Vick will switch his preseason chip for his “let’s go” regular season attitude, he said.