Michael Vick will start today for the Eagles against the Lions, but coach Andy Reid insists that Vick will give the starting job back to Kevin Kolb as soon as Kolb is cleared to play. Vick, however, has a strong financial incentive to want to keep the starting job for good.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Vick has $2.75 million in incentives tied to playing time during the 2010 regular season.
If Vick plays at least 51 percent of the Eagles’ offensive plays in nine games this season, he’ll get an $850,000 bonus. If he plays 51 percent of the snaps in 11 games, he’ll get an additional $1.05 million. And if he plays 51 percent of the snaps in 13 games, he’ll get $850,000 more.
So if Vick plays most of the game 13 times this season, that’s a total of $2.75 million. He’s already done it once -- he played more than half the snaps last week against the Packers -- and he’ll do it again today barring injury against the Lions.
And, of course, if Vick shows this year that he’s capable of being an effective starting quarterback, he can cash in big time next year, when he becomes a free agent.