Falcons to trade Vick

[THE KOD]

Falcons pursuing trade of Vick

Dimitroff confirms decision on QB, who is expected to be released from prison in July
By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday, February 13, 2009

The Falcons are actively seeking to trade Michael Vick.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team is preparing to trade the rights to the imprisoned and suspended quarterback, according to the team?s website.

Michael Vick was the Falcons? starting QB from 2002-2006.


? Last of co-defendants out of jail
? How Vick burned through his fortune
?With regards to Michael Vick, we?ve decided to seek a trade of his contractual rights to another NFL club,? Dimitroff said. ?We took a number of steps in the 2008 season, including using our first pick to draft a quarterback. We feel a trade is the best move for the Falcons, and it?s also in the best interest of Michael. This has been a really unique situation from a variety of standpoints and because we will actively be involved in a trade situation, I don?t envision our organization speaking any more about this subject publicly until it?s reached a resolution.?

The Falcons refused to make Dimitroff available Friday and calls to Dimitroff were not returned. When reached by the Journal-Constitution, Vick?s agent Joel Segal refused comment on the situation.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank has said that Vick was not part of the team?s future. However, Dimitroff?s comments were the first indication that the Falcons were actively seeking to trade Vick.

Vick is currently in federal prison on felony charges related to dogfighting and is scheduled to be released in July. He has also been indefinitely suspended by the NFL. The league has refused to address his situation until his release. Dimitroff said on the website that he had not heard from the NFL about a timeline for Vick?s reinstatement.

Former Falcon and Virginia Tech teammate Keion Carpenter recently visited Vick in prison.

?That?s not even his main concern,? Carpenter said. ?He wants to get his life back on track and get back to his family. Football is on his radar, but only after he gets his life back in order. Once he does that, the football will fall into place.?

The Falcons must attempt to trade Vick because if they release him, his contract would place a heavy burden on their salary cap. Vick has a lucrative contract that runs until 2013. It calls for Vick to receive a base salary of $9 million and a bonus of $6.43 million in 2009. The remainder of the contract is worth $45.11 million, with another possible $3 million in Pro Bowl bonuses.

?I believe in second chances, often times third chances,? Blank told the AJC in November. ?I think that after some period of time, Michael would have paid his debt to society. ? Obviously, he?s paid a huge price professionally and personally. In terms of his family and in terms of his own financial situation. I think at some point, I?d like to see him play again in the National Football League.?

One question the Falcons will have to address is whether to trade Vick within the division. Carolina and Tampa Bay are among several teams that could be in the market for a quarterback. Some other candidates include Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, New York Jets, San Francisco and Chicago.

Also, former Falcons head coach Jim Mora, who went to the NFC championship game with Vick, is now head coach in Seattle. Greg Knapp, the former offensive coordinator for the Falcons when Vick was the starting quarterback, is on Mora?s staff.

In November, the Associated Press contacted the other 31 teams about acquiring Vick. Most teams refused comment, citing league tampering rules. However, six teams said they would not shut the door on acquiring Vick.
................................................................

I knew that Dimitroff would make this move.

I hope someone will take him. Maybe worth a second round pick and a third.

A first round pick I doubt.

Oakland took MeAngelo off the Falcons hands.
He lasted a short time :142smilie

Come on Dallas , step up to the plate

 

[THE KOD]

Which teams might consider Vick ?


DETROIT LIONS - The Lions signed veteran QB Daunte Culpepper (11) to a two-year deal in 2008 but went 0-16 in 2008. Associated Press

NEW YORK JETS - Legendary Packers QB Brett Favre joined the Jets after retiring in 2008, only to re-retire in Feb. 2009, leaving NY with Kellen Clemens and many questions. Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS - Former No. 1 pick Alex Smith says he'll take a pay cut to stay in SF but he's failed to produce since being drafted in 2005. Associated Press

CAROLINA PANTHERS - Veteran QB Jake Delhomme remains reliable but is starting to show some age. Associated Press

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS - KC had to hand the ball to Tyler Thigpen after Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard were injured. The Chiefs lost 10 of the 11 games he started in 2008. Associated Press

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - Veteran Jeff Garcia has publicly said his days with the Bucs are likely over. Associated Press

MINNESOTA VIKINGS - Gus Frerotte and Tavaris Jackson (not pictured) were a tandem act in 2008 but questions linger regarding Jackson's ability to take over. Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS - David Garrard and the Jags had a miserable 2008, going 5-11 and finishing last in the AFC South. Getty Images

ST. LOUIS RAMS - Marc Bulger was benched late in 2008 for the QB he replaced -- Trent Green -- and the Rams finished 2-14. Associated Press

BUFFALO BILLS - Former top QB pick J.P. Losman sought a trade in 2008 but stuck with Buffalo. Associated Press
..............................................................

The commisioner will probably suspend him for a year though.

Kinda a pacman deal

 

[THE KOD]

Falcons
Records show how Vick burned through fortune
By ALAN JUDD

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, December 06, 2008


The day he went to jail, Michael Vick bought a $99,000 Mercedes.

Last of Vick's co-defendants out of jail
Lawyer: Vick could go to halfway house 'any day'
Records show how Vick burned through fortune
He cashed four checks that totaled $24,900. He gave $28,000 to the mother of his oldest child. He paid a public relations firm $23,000 and gave a friend $16,000.

Altogether on Nov. 19, 2007, Vick spent $201,840. But for the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, the day was most remarkable for how it ended: behind bars, beginning what would be a nearly two-year sentence in a notorious dogfighting case.

The day?s spending, in fact, was but a small part of the $18.2 million that flew out of Vick?s hands from 2006 to 2008, according to documents filed recently in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk, Va. Nearing the end of his time in federal prison, Vick, 28, is seeking the court?s protection from his creditors.

They are particularly interested in his increased spending in the three months before he reported for jail.

The documents provide a detailed look at the privileged lifestyle of an athlete who rarely offered more than a glimpse of himself off the playing field. They show how Vick, who grew up poor in Newport News, Va., bought houses and cars, farms and horses, boats and jewelry, all at the height of a spectacular career that shattered after he was identified as the key figure in an illegal dogfighting ring.

The bankruptcy filings also reveal Vick at his most vulnerable. Financial advisers, Vick?s lawyers claim, took advantage of him. He poured money into businesses that failed. He took care of the needs of his relatives, paying for satellite television and cellphone service, for instance, and his mother?s offerings to her church. He even gave each of his three co-defendants in the dogfighting case $150,000 for legal bills.

For his own expenses, Vick seems to have relied heavily on cash.

In 2007, documents show, he used cashier?s checks to withdraw $908,500 from his bank accounts. During a two-year period, he wrote checks payable to ?cash? totaling almost $1.1 million.

His spending escalated as his prison sentence neared.

From Aug. 27, 2007, the day he pleaded guilty in a Richmond federal courthouse, until Nov. 19, the day he bought the new Mercedes before reporting to jail, Vick shelled out $3,627,291.

Those transactions are ?of special interest? to groups seeking repayment from Vick, said attorney Ross Reeves of Norfolk, who represents unsecured creditors, including the Falcons. The team wants Vick to return $3.75 million from a 2004 bonus.

?Where did these assets go and for what purpose?? Reeves said in an interview. ?A lot of what Mike Vick was doing was planning for being incarcerated. He wanted to provide for his family, and he made that clear.?

At the same time, Reeves said, creditors want to make sure Vick wasn?t ?sheltering assets.?

Lawyers for Vick declined to comment.

Whatever the case, everything Vick had may be gone. And resuming his old life when he gets out of prison next year seems a long shot.

Vick is banned from the National Football League. Once the game?s highest-paid player, Vick now claims only a nominal monthly income from an investment account: $12.89.


?World is mine?

Not long after joining the Falcons, Vick bought his first house: a $918,000 mini-mansion behind the gates that guard the Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth. Two years later, in April 2005, he upgraded to a larger house in the same neighborhood, for almost $3.8 million. Among his improvements to that property: a movie screening room and a golf simulator.

Vick had money to burn. In 2004, after two seasons with the Falcons, he signed a new contract that, with potential bonuses, could pay him $130 million by 2013. Endorsement deals ? with Nike, AirTran Airways and others ? added millions more. In 2006 and 2007 alone, Vick took in almost $22 million.

So, court records show, Vick went shopping.

He bought four more houses, all in Virginia, and began building another.

He bought a condominium in Miami Beach.

He bought interests in two farms ? one in Virginia, one in Rockdale County, east of Atlanta.

He bought six Paso Fino horses, worth about $450,000.

He bought two boats, one for $100,000, the other for $125,000.

He bought cars: a Bentley, two Land Rovers, Cadillacs, an Infiniti sport utility vehicle and an Infiniti sedan, two Ford pickup trucks, a Dodge, a Chevrolet, the $99,000 Mercedes.

And he bought as much as $450,000 in jewelry. The pieces included two Swiss watches, a bracelet, a pair of diamond stud earrings, and a charm inscribed, ?World is mine.?

Vick shared with family and friends and with family of friends.

In 2006, for instance, he bought his sister, Christina, a GMC Yukon. The next year, he gave a Lincoln Navigator to Tameka Taylor, the mother of his first child. The mother of Vick?s other two children, Kijafa Frink, got a Land Rover; her mother, a Cadillac Escalade.

Vick also took on recurring obligations. He paid Frink?s mortgage and gave her $1,000 a month for clothes, court records say, and $300 for ?beauty-related expenses.? He supported Taylor and their son with $3,500 a month.

For his mother, Brenda Boddie, Vick covered a $4,700-a-month mortgage and $2,100 in payments for her two Cadillacs.

In all, routine monthly bills for the mothers of Vick?s children and for his own mother came to $31,293 ? more than $375,000 a year.


Unlucky 7?

To run his complicated financial life, Vick in 2005 created a management and marketing company, MV7 LLC. It provided income for at least two family members, according to public records: Vick?s mother, whose salary approached $100,000 a year, and his sister, who earned about $22,000. The firm even had a retirement fund.

MV7 was the first of several ventures that alluded to one or both of Vick?s most valuable assets: his name and his jersey number.

Divine Seven operated a Payless Car Rental franchise at the Atlanta airport. Seven Charms Farm raised horses. Vicktory Corp. oversaw family investments. Siete (Spanish for ?seven?) delivered a gift of $317,000 to his mother?s church a week before Vick pleaded guilty.

Bad luck plagued many of Vick?s enterprises.

In 2006, Vick personally guaranteed a $2.1 million bank loan to Divine Seven in exchange for a 60 percent stake in the company. A little over a year later, the bank declared the loan in default. It obtained a civil judgment against Vick and is trying to collect through his bankruptcy case.

In 2007, Vick put up $200,000 for a 60 percent interest in Seven Charms Farm, a 5-acre spread near Conyers. In September of this year, Rockdale County sold the property at auction to satisfy an unpaid property tax bill. The buyer got the property for $40,000.

Vick?s philanthropic efforts didn?t fare especially well, either. In 2006, the Michael Vick Foundation provided 100 backpacks to poor children in Newport News and paid for an after-school program. But the foundation spent only 12 percent of its budget ? $20,590 of $171,823 ? on charitable programs, according to its 2006 federal tax return. The foundation paid its fund-raiser, Susan Bass Roberts, a former spokeswoman for Vick, $97,000, the tax return shows.

Most of the foundation?s money came from Vick, Roberts said in an interview. But she declined to speak in detail about the foundation, which she described as ?kind of like ancient history.?

The foundation ceased operations in 2006.

Most of the money left in the foundation?s bank account, $50,000, was withdrawn earlier this year by one of the succession of financial advisers Vick hired, court records say. Several advisers and business partners took money or other assets without Vick?s approval, his lawyers told the bankruptcy court, adding that they may file lawsuits to recoup some of his losses. Vick?s former associates have denied the allegations.

Perhaps Vick?s most successful company was the one that precipitated his fall from grace.

Mike Vick Kennels LLC bred and sold pit bulls ? and, Vick ultimately admitted in court, staged and participated in illegal dogfights.


A last spree

After a highly publicized investigation that lasted several weeks, a federal grand jury indicted Vick on dogfighting charges on July 17, 2007. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson five weeks later, on Aug. 27, in Richmond. Hudson let Vick remain free on bond until a hearing on his sentence, scheduled three months out.

Thus began Vick?s last spending spree.

He began by setting aside money for family members. He put $625,000 into two businesses that would make monthly payments to Frink, who then was pregnant with their second child. He also gave Frink $48,000 and an SUV to keep in Leavenworth, Kan., where he would serve his sentence.

During his last weeks of freedom, though, Vick also spent $85,000 on a fish pond and $48,257 for landscaping. He bought a $31,000 Ford pickup and a $33,100 Chevrolet.

Vick?s financial records suggest he was hemorrhaging money. In the weeks before he went to jail, he made 48 cash withdrawals for a total of $325,945. The largest was on Sept. 19, for about $67,000. Using three cashier?s checks, he withdrew an additional $90,000.

Court documents do not reflect how Vick used the cash.

Finally, on Nov. 19, Vick went to a car showroom in Hampton, Va. He picked out an andorite-gray 2008 Mercedes-Benz S550 sedan and, using his bank debit card, paid in full: $99,589.71.

Then he drove to Richmond, surrendered to federal marshals and went to jail.

The Mercedes now is in the hands of a group of creditors; they recently told a bankruptcy judge they have found a buyer willing to pay $65,000. A luxury-car broker is trying to sell the rest of Vick?s vehicles.

Under bankruptcy laws, Vick will be allowed to retain ownership of one house; he chose his mother?s home in Suffolk, Va. He also is keeping $136,500 of home furnishings, $5,000 of clothes and a retirement account with a balance of $96.63.

Vick?s other houses are on the market. The proceeds of any sales would go toward paying off the mortgages.

Repaying other creditors might be a challenge, especially if his suspension from professional football continues after his prison term.

In addition to his other debts, Vick owes more than $1.2 million in back taxes, the Internal Revenue Service told his bankruptcy judge last month. That figure may increase, the IRS said in court papers; Vick has not yet filed his 2007 return.

Still, Vick?s court papers sound an upbeat note.

After prison, his lawyers wrote last month, Vick ?will return to Virginia and will seek to rebuild his life and his career.?

Vick, they wrote, has ?every reason to believe that upon his release, he will be reinstated into the NFL, resume his career and be able to earn a substantial living.?
.................................................................

 

[THE KOD]

Lawyer: Vick could go to halfway house ?any day?
The Associated Press

Friday, January 30, 2009

Newport News, Va. ? A lawyer for Michael Vick told a federal bankruptcy judge Friday that the imprisoned Atlanta Falcon quarterback could be transferred to a halfway house in Virginia any day.

?He?s in the process of being released to the halfway house,? attorney Paul Campsen told Judge Frank Santoro during Vick?s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. ?We expect it to occur any day.?

Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy. He is scheduled for release July 20.

Records show how Vick burned through fortune
But the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has not given Vick?s attorneys a specific date for the move, which Campsen said could occur with only ?a day or so? notice.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy. He is scheduled for release July 20 but could serve the last few months of his term at a halfway house in Newport News, his hometown.

?We believe he is ultimately going to be reinstated by the NFL,? said another Vick bankruptcy attorney, Michael Blumenthal.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not said whether he will lift Vick?s suspension after his release. Vick once was the league?s highest-paid player before his indictment and guilty plea left both his finances and his reputation in tatters. He filed for bankruptcy protection in July, claiming assets of $16 million and liabilities of $20.4 million.

The judge approved the hiring of brokers to sell five boats and four cars owned by Vick and plans to sell his suburban Atlanta home at auction.
..............................................................

 

[rusty]

A no-brainer.They have Ryan,and Vick is old news.
Can he play for another team less fortunate at that position??

Of course,But at what price??

 

[THE KOD]

A no-brainer.They have Ryan,and Vick is old news.
Can he play for another team less fortunate at that position??

Of course,But at what price??

...................................................................

if you lived in Georgia you would understand the bring Vick back mentality . Alot of people still wear his jersey proudly.

 

[rusty]

...................................................................

if you lived in Georgia you would understand the bring Vick back mentality . Alot of people still wear his jersey proudly.

Alot of dog fighters I would guess!!:shrug:

 

[THE KOD]

Alot of dog fighters I would guess!!:shrug:

................................................................

yeh in the city about 90% dog fighters

 

[rusty]

................................................................

yeh in the city about 90% dog fighters

jk.Honestly a good player,who should get another shot.Who hasnt made amistake in life,and actually came out a better man.

Not all,but surely he deserves another chance,and with this years draft weak at QB,he just might get one.

 

[Old School]

will be very interesting to see which path he chooses.


Americans forgive their sports hero's very easily.

But he crossed a line that for many has no forgiveness.

Crulety to the innocent.

His remorse and actions will be on display each and every day for the rest of his life.

What is Michael Vick made of...

The answers will be clear for all to see.

 

[freelancc]

why not keep him in Atlanta as a rb/receiver 'slash' type player:shrug:

 

[THE KOD]

why not keep him in Atlanta as a rb/receiver 'slash' type player:shrug:

......................................................

thats simple

he is a cancer in the lockerroom.

This is a rumor that I read on a blog so I am not sure it is true. The guy said that the reason Vick is not out of prison yet to a halfway house in January, is because he refused to join the drug treatment program in prison and be drug tested during his time.

the ganja must be good in prison mon

but who would stay an extra 6 mths ?:scared

 

[wormdog]

scott atlanta, please get a life

no one gives a shit about vick, he sucks, he cant throw a ball to save his life, everyone had a boner for this retard since he entered the nfl


he cant hit the broad side of a barn to save his life, he proved he is a piece of shit fighting dogs, i hope the fawk doesnt ever return, but its people like you that make the rest of us have to read about him

let him rot, done deal, or let him come back and make more of an ass of himself,

i will assure you the guy will be in the news for about three more years and it wont have anything to do with how well he does on a football field
give it up bro
honestly

the guy sucked before , he will suck even more now when he has the world hoping he fails

dog fighting didnt change my mind on what i think of him,

he cnat throw a football, he sucks and doesnt deserve to play nfl

if you need proof see his younger brother that will spend more time in jail than the nfl

 

[THE KOD]

scott atlanta, please get a life

no one gives a shit about vick, he sucks, he cant throw a ball to save his life, everyone had a boner for this retard since he entered the nfl


he cant hit the broad side of a barn to save his life, he proved he is a piece of shit fighting dogs, i hope the fawk doesnt ever return, but its people like you that make the rest of us have to read about him

let him rot, done deal, or let him come back and make more of an ass of himself,

i will assure you the guy will be in the news for about three more years and it wont have anything to do with how well he does on a football field
give it up bro
honestly

the guy sucked before , he will suck even more now when he has the world hoping he fails

dog fighting didnt change my mind on what i think of him,

he cnat throw a football, he sucks and doesnt deserve to play nfl

if you need proof see his younger brother that will spend more time in jail than the nfl

................................................................

whoa there wormboy

I am just reporting the news. I cant stand the guy as is well documented. My only interest is the Falcons get draft picks for him.

and I will post whatever the fawk I want you stupid shit. Dont read it if you dont want to.

damn cheeseheads anyway, bashers in non season is funny to me.

I hope the bastid Vick goes to Green Bay to ride the bench, and then your new QB struggles and they let Vick play for Green Bay .

:142smilie :142smilie

 

[rusty]

................................................................

whoa there wormboy

I am just reporting the news. I cant stand the guy as is well documented. My only interest is the Falcons get draft picks for him.

and I will post whatever the fawk I want you stupid shit. Dont read it if you dont want to.

damn cheeseheads anyway, bashers in non season is funny to me.

I hope the bastid Vick goes to Green Bay to ride the bench, and then your new QB struggles and they let Vick play for Green Bay .

:142smilie :142smilie

Yeah,Wormdog chill,dont be an arse ya whole life!:142smilie

 

[THE KOD]

Yeah,Wormdog chill,dont be an arse ya whole life!:142smilie

.............................................................

Rusty

we are beginning to make a differance in the Politics forum . I think we got the neo cons right where we want them.

Fight the damn Power !:00hour

 

[wormdog]

again you prove you have no clue

i hope vick goes to gb?

we wouldnt even take moss at his peak of his career even if he was gift wrapped, we dont take guys that deserve to be in jail

good luck hoping atlanta gets more than vick is worth

vick is worth about a 50th round draft choice in pee wee football right now

but you keep keepin the dream that he is worth something more than dog piss


the funny thing is some team in the nfl is going to give up a pick for him, which is just sad

but thats why they call it a busines

 

[wormdog]

again you prove you have no clue

i hope vick goes to gb?

we wouldnt even take moss at his peak of his career even if he was gift wrapped, we dont take guys that deserve to be in jail

good luck hoping atlanta gets more than vick is worth

vick is worth about a 50th round draft choice in pee wee football right now

but you keep keepin the dream that he is worth something more than dog piss


the funny thing is some team in the nfl is going to give up a pick for him, which is just sad

but thats why they call it a busines

 

[THE KOD]

worm

you double humped that post

you must have been nervous about Vick playing for your beloved Packers.

Remember this quote by Benidict Arnold


I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.

 

[Woodson]

again you prove you have no clue

i hope vick goes to gb?

we wouldnt even take moss at his peak of his career even if he was gift wrapped, we dont take guys that deserve to be in jail

good luck hoping atlanta gets more than vick is worth

vick is worth about a 50th round draft choice in pee wee football right now

but you keep keepin the dream that he is worth something more than dog piss


the funny thing is some team in the nfl is going to give up a pick for him, which is just sad

but thats why they call it a busines

What a fucking asshole...

It's a sports forum and definitely an interesting piece of sports to ponder.

Chill out.