Monday night’s memorable performance from Eagles quarterback Mike Vick has sparked plenty of discussion and debate regarding Vick’s short-term and long-term football future.
Chris Mortensen of ESPN believes that Vick will be an Eagle in 2011, either with a long-term contract or the one-year franchise tag. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Vick camp already is bracing for the possibility of the franchise tag.
In the end, don’t be shocked if that’s precisely what the Eagles do.
As one league source observed, “Vick’s contract value despite the hype will be tempered by the fact that all he has to do is breathe in the wrong direction and he will be suspended for life.” Though Vick currently is firmly within the redemption phase of his career, the concern is a legitimate one. Still on federal probation after a six-year lifestyle of gambling and dogfighting was discovered accidentally by authorities in 2007, Vick escaped potentially big trouble earlier this year after former dogfighting partner and convicted felon Quanis Phillips attended Vick’s 30th birthday party -- and was shot by an unknown assailant after the party ended.
That incident occurred during Vick’s first offseason as a former superstar whose best days were behind him. In 2011, Vick will be a superstar all over again. Will he be able to properly navigate the challenges that will come with it, including a younger brother who seems at times to be determined to drag Mike back into a lifestyle of arrogance and reckless excess?
For the Eagles, it’s a gamble that could be too big to take, especially since the current labor deal protects players from having to pay back any bonus money unless they have intentionally held out or retired. Going to jail, for now, doesn’t permit a term to recover a single penny paid.
In contrast, relying on the franchise tag (which possibly won’t exist under the next labor deal but most think still will) will give the Eagles what they need most.
Time.
Time to see whether the new labor deal will allow teams to get money back from players who get suspended or incarcerated. Time to see whether opposing defenses will figure out how to stop the new Vick. Time to see whether the new Vick will become the old Vick once the praise and attention returns.
If, in the end, the Eagles apply the franchise tag and Vick runs afoul of the terms of his probation or of his reinstatement to the NFL, the Eagles will be out not a dime, since a franchise player gets his money in the form of games checks. If he’s not around to play, he won’t get paid.
Under this approach, the Eagles also would keep Kevin Kolb into 2011, since Kolb will be the insurance against the new Vick becoming the old Vick.
So even though Mike Vick has become better than he ever was and even though he is now firmly in the MVP debate, don’t assume that he’ll get the kind of long-term deal paid to the likes of Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. Sure, a long-term deal is possible, if Vick’s demands are reasonable. But Vick and the Eagles likely will having different views of what “reasonable” is, with Vick focused on his performance and the Eagles obsessed with the potential problems that will arise -- especially if Vick were to enter the 2011 offseason with his bankruptcy debts paid off and plenty of other money in his pocket.