Michael Vick

Michael Vick (born June 26, 1980, Newport News, Virginia, U.S.) is an American professional gridiron football quarterback who was the highest-paid player in National Football League (NFL) history before pleading guilty, in 2007, to charges of running an illegal dogfighting ring. After serving 18 months in a federal prison, he returned to the NFL and was named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2010.

Vick grew up in a housing project in Newport News, and it was there that he, as a young boy, was first exposed to dogfighting. A gifted high school athlete, he attended Virginia Tech on a football scholarship. As a redshirt freshman (“redshirts” are players who are one year older than their class designation, as they have spent a season practicing with their collegiate teams but not playing in games) Vick led Virginia Tech to an undefeated regular season and into the BCS national championship game (a loss to Florida State University). After helping Virginia Tech to an 11–1 record in his second year of play, he left school to embark on a pro football career. Though Vick, 6 feet (1.83 metres) tall, was short for an NFL quarterback, his strong arm and the unparalleled athleticism he brought to the position led the Atlanta Falcons to select him with the first overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft.

Vick became Atlanta’s full-time starting quarterback in his second year with the team. That year he threw for 2,936 yards and 16 touchdowns (while rushing for 8 additional touchdowns) and was named to his first Pro Bowl. The following postseason he guided the Falcons to a historic first-round victory over the Green Bay Packers, who previously had never lost a home play-off game. In December 2004 Vick signed a $130 million contract extension with Atlanta that was, at the time, the largest contract in league history, and shortly thereafter he led the Falcons to the National Football Conference championship game (a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles). In 2006 Vick rushed for 1,039 yards, a single-season NFL record for a quarterback.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Great Moments in Sports Quiz

In April 2007 a house that Vick owned in Virginia was searched, and investigators discovered that a dogfighting ring had been operated on the property. Three months later Vick and three others were charged with various federal crimes associated with operating the ring. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, admitting to personally participating in killing dogs as well as taking part in a dogfighting conspiracy, and he was sentenced to 23 months in prison; he was also suspended indefinitely by the NFL. During the course of his imprisonment, he lost all his endorsement deals and filed for bankruptcy.

Vick was released from prison in May 2009 and placed under house arrest for two months. He was reinstated by the NFL prior to the 2009 regular season and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, despite protests from animal-rights groups and football fans in Philadelphia and around the country. Vick served as a backup until an injury to the team’s starting quarterback in the first game of the 2010 season thrust him into the lineup. Vick played with a newfound poise in his return to the NFL, setting career highs by passing for 3,018 yards and 21 touchdowns in only 12 games, while completing 62.6 percent of his passes after having had a career completion percentage of just 53.7. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned Comeback Player of the Year honours for his play in 2010. During the 2011 season he set the NFL record for career rushing yards by a quarterback (4,946).

Vick, who was healthy enough to play a full NFL season just once in his career (2006), was again beset by injuries and ineffectiveness in 2012, as he passed for just 12 touchdowns (and 10 interceptions) in 10 games. The same problems plagued Vick again in 2013, and he appeared in just six games and was replaced as the Eagles’ starting quarterback by the team’s new coaching regime. In the following off-season he signed with the New York Jets. He primarily served as a backup with the Jets but was called upon to start three games during his one season in New York. Vick joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in August 2015. He played in five games for the Steelers and did not find a team for the 2016 season. In February 2017 Vick retired from the NFL, and six months later he became a studio analyst for NFL telecasts on the Fox Broadcasting Company.