Though Eagles quarterback Mike Vick will earn only $1.625 million for playing football (and, for up to five weeks, not playing football) in 2009, the contract that he signed with the Eagles carries a much higher 2009 cap number.
Per a league source, Vick will count more than $4.6 million against the cap this year.
Of the excess, $750,000 of it comes from the $1.5 million roster bonus that Vick is due to receive on the fifth day of the 2010 league year, given the unique accounting rules of the last capped year under the labor agreement.
The other $2.26 million comes from a “likely to be earned incentive,” which undoubtedly won’t be earned.
In the past, this device has been used to carry cap space from one year to the next. In this case, the incentive was utilized to ensure that the second year of the deal complies with the 30 percent rule, which limits salary growth from a capped year to an uncapped year.
Vick also was given a $50,000 salary advance, suggesting that he currently has very limited liquid assets.