The NFL is trying to get a federal court to vacate and earlier ruling that would have allowed Michael Vick to keep his $16.5 million of his signing bonus.  One of the key aspects of this case and the request hinge on the concept that Michael Vick breached his contract with the Atlanta Falcons by committing a felony (which he admitted guilt to in his plea agreement). That felony and his admission have him sitting in prison where he cannot live up to his agreement.

I ask you, if you committed a felony, and admitted it to a Judge and if you were then sent to prison, would your employer continue to pay your salary while you sat in jail?

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS —

The NFL is asking federal court to vacate a judge’s ruling allowing suspended quarterback Michael Vick to keep $16.5 million in bonuses.

The NFL also wants to end the jurisdiction of U.S. District Judge David Doty over labor matters.

Doty ruled earlier this month that the Atlanta Falcons would violate the NFL collective bargaining agreement if they tried to recover the roster bonus Vick already received. The league argues that Doty’s public comments show he is biased against them.

Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal charges in a dogfighting operation. After the plea, the Falcons tried to recover about $20 million in bonuses Vick earned from 2004 to 2007.

“Michael Vick breached his contract and cannot play because he was convicted of a felony and is sitting in jail,” the NFL said in a statement. “Despite those facts, the judge held that Vick is entitled to keep nearly $20 million in bonus money paid to him for playing football through the 2014 season.”

The league also questioned whether Doty, who presided during the 1992 antitrust suit that led to the 1993 labor agreement after six years without a contract, should continue to oversee its dealings with the NFL Players Association.

“No other industry has its labor relations supervised by a federal judge in the way we do, and at this point, after 15 years of labor peace, it is hard to understand why such oversight is necessary or (why it is) an appropriate use of judicial resources,” the statement said.

NFL challenges Vick bonus ruling – 02/14/2008 – MiamiHerald.com

We have updated several of the points in our mission statement.  Our mission has not changed and is not currently fulfilled as there is still an open murder investigation relating to Michael Vick and Michael Vick is still a member of the Falcons and the NFL(temporarily suspended).

Michael Vick is also scheduled to head back to court in a couple months.  We will monitor that trial and look to see if any forward progress can be made on the murder investigation of one of Michael Vick’s partners in the illegal dog fighting ring.

Note – I call the person a partner as he did business with Michael Vick, selling Vick one or more dogs and fighting dogs that he owned against Michael Vick.  As this activity is illegal, it is not technically a business partnership as illegal activity can not be contractually bound.  I use the term partner in the loose sense that they did illegal business together.  In one situation, Michael Vick appears to be a customer of the deceased and in the other (the dog fights) he was the backer of dogs that fought illegally.  I do not have any details as to how money either party won or lost in dog fighting directly with each other before the murder occurred last spring immediately after Vick’s Property was seized.

It was just like old times for Michael Vick today as he won a court victory that stuck it to the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL.  He was allowed to keep the majority of his bonuses despite the fact that he seems to have started breeching his contract within days or weeks of signing with the Falcons.

That will hurt the Falcons in the pocket book and in the line up for sometime to come, but Vick still miraculously hopes to do what’s right to get back in the NFL.  Obviously, he wants to help out some other NFL team not the Falcons as he’s just skewering the Falcons and his old teammates many of whom have doggedly stood up for him as recently as a few weeks ago.

AP) Jailed quarterback Michael Vick can keep all but $3.75 million of the nearly $20 million in bonus money he received from the Atlanta Falcons following a ruling Monday by a federal judge.
The Falcons sought to recover the bonuses after Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges in a dogfighting operation. The bonuses were paid from 2004-07.
A special master ruled in October the Falcons were entitled to recover the bonuses. The Falcons argued Vick used proceeds from a contract he signed in 2004 to finance his illicit activities.
But U.S. District Judge David Doty of Minneapolis ruled that recovery of most of the bonus money by the Falcons would violate the NFL collective bargaining agreement. The agreement does not allow roster bonus money to be forfeited once it’s been earned, the judge wrote.
The NFL criticized Doty’s ruling. The league has suspended Vick indefinitely without pay.
“It makes no sense that an individual who willfully violates his contract is entitled to be paid tens of millions of dollars even though he is in jail and providing no services whatsoever to his employer,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.
Vick’s personal attorney, Lawrence Woodward Jr., said Vick was happy with the ruling but understands there could be appeals.
“He’s grateful for some good news but he realizes he needs to keep doing all the right things to get back to playing football,” Woodward said.

Judge: Vick Can Keep $16.25M In Bonuses , Judge Rules Jailed Quarterback Michael Vick Can Keep $16.25M In Bonuses From Falcons – CBS News

This decision is bound to hurt Vick’s chances to get back into the NFL on good terms, as he has essentially taken this money and run.  It will increase the power of the NFL players union in the short term, but in the long term the NFL and teams will look very skeptically at paying a big signing bonus for anyone.  Long term agreements will be even more difficult for the NFL to consider.

Now, I have to say it. I do not agree with Michael Vick’s means, but he may have just done the NFL a favor by screwing the league and future big stars out of millions of dollars in signing bonuses.  Maybe when future stars come up (with a lot less money) they will not face the same temptations that Michael Vick faced. 

Let’s just hope that they will have a little more courage and currency in their moral bank accounts.