For the second time in his career, Michael Vick has signed a contract that could pay him up to $100 million. His most recent one was givn to him by the Philadelphia Eagles. The is for 6 years and guarantees Vick $40 million.
As sweet as that sounds, that $40 million will not cover Vick's debts to creditors. How much would that suck? You just sign a contract that guarantees you more money than the vast majority of humans will never see, and you have to pay it to other people.
But I digress.
The question one must ask after seeing this deal is whether Vick is worth it? There is no questioning how exciting the man is and how diffifcult it is for defenses to try and create a gameplan for him, but he's never thrown for more than 21 touchdowns in a season. He's also only topped 3,000 yards passing (3,018 in 2010) once in his career.
You can't mention Vick without mentioning what a good runner he is. Last year he topped 600 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. That was last year though. Have you seen the Eagles' line so far? Vick has been under constant pressure. He could die this year. He looked to have worn down by the end of last year's dream season and I'm concerned about him playing at a high level all year and into the playoffs.
Vick has a career completion percentage of 55.3, not exactly mind blowing. Last season he had a career high with 62.6, but can he repeat that?
This contract makes you look back at all the other quarterback contracts that are $100 million or more, and in hindsight, some of them are really terrible.
- Carson Palmer: The now-retired Cincinnati Bengal signed a 6-year extension in 2005 that upped his contract to 9 years, $118.75 million. The Bengals never won a playoff game with Palmer behind the helm. Hell, they only had one winning record after he signed the deal.
- Donovan McNabb: This one made sense. McNabb signed a 7-year, $115 million contract after the 2001 season. He then led the team to several playoff appearances, including a few NFC Championships and a Super Bowl, but never won the big game.
- Daunte Culpepper: In 2003, Culpepper cashed in a 10-year, $102 million deal. This was after a 7-7 season where he threw 25 touchdowns. But in 2004 he was incredible with 39 TD passes and more than 4,700 yards. Then he went to suck really fast. He blew out his knee the next season and never started more than seven games in a season.
- Brett Favre: Possibly the most annoying player in the past 5 years signed a 10-year, $101 million deal in 2001. Inappropriate text messages aside, this was a pretty good deal. From 2002-2008 (when he retired the first time), Favre had five winning seasons, one losing season and one 8-8 season. He mad the playoffs four times and almost had a miracle final season in Green Bay.
- Drew Bledsoe: The New England Patriots gave Bledsoe a monster deal in 2011 worth $103 million for 10 years. Bledsoe responded by going 0-2 to start the 2001 season before he got hurt and Tom Brady took the reigns. Bledsoe was then traded to Buffalo and never made the playoffs again. Totally worth it, right?
- Michael Vick: This deal was with the Atlanta Falcons and was worth a whopping $130 million for 10 years. Signed late in the 2004 season, this was the largest deal in NFL history and led us all to believe Vick would be a Falcon for life. Well, we know the rest of the story. Vick had mediocre seasons in 2005 and 2006, and then he was arrested, thrown in jail, released and put in a ton of debt.
- Ben Roethlisberger: Big Ben put the Pitsburgh Steelers in a tough spot last offseason, but you can't say he hasn't lived up to the 8-year, $102 million deal he signed prior to the 2008 season. Since the deal, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to one Super Bowl win and another appearance. In the win, he led the team down the field in the final moments to claim victory. You'll notice he is the only man on this list with a Super Bowl win.
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