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http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/sto...ork-jets-quarterback-michael-vick-nearly-debt
When Michael Vick filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2008, his only income came from mopping floors at 12 cents an hour in the early morning hours at Leavenworth prison.
Less than seven years later, Vick is weeks away from paying off the majority of the nearly $18 million he owed his creditors.
[+] EnlargeMichael Vick
Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
Thanks in part to living on a budget of $300,000, veteran quarterback Michael Vick has paid off the majority of the $17.8 million he owed to creditors.
Since getting out of prison, where he served 548 days for taking part in an illegal dogfighting ring, Vick hasn't fully returned to his former self on the field, showing only flashes of the player he was before his career and life were derailed. But his financial comeback, while less public, has been quite successful.
While his actions involving dogs led some to believe he would never get back on the football field again, this year is Vick's sixth season of playing after serving his prison sentence. That's equal to the number of years Vick played before his prison term.
In the five-year period (2010 to 2014) in which he agreed to go on a restrictive budget to pay back his creditors, Vick earned more than $49 million during four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the New York Jets.
Joseph Luzinski, a senior vice president at Development Specialists Inc., a management consultancy firm and the liquidating trustee in Vick's bankruptcy, said that because of the amount of money Vick made, he has paid off more than $15 million (84.7 percent) of the $17.8 million he owed. Luzinski said there is still a real estate asset to be sold after Vick's deal with his creditors ends Dec. 31, which could raise the amount he has repaid.
"What Michael did was the exception, not the rule," Luzinski said. "He didn't have to do this. The law allows you to skate by and pay your creditors 10 or 20 cents on the dollar, but he thought this was the right thing to do."
Vick said he could have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy instead of Chapter 11, which he ultimately chose. The former would have meant most of his debts would have been forgiven.
"I didn't want to stiff people who never stiffed me," Vick said.
He said he is thrilled the plan worked out.
"I feel blessed because I came out and found myself in a position where I had a lot of people that really believed in me, people who gave me an opportunity," Vick said. "At the time, it wasn't about trying to fulfill all the bankruptcy needs. I was trying to fulfill all the needs that I had in my life because I had nothing."
When Michael Vick filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2008, his only income came from mopping floors at 12 cents an hour in the early morning hours at Leavenworth prison.
Less than seven years later, Vick is weeks away from paying off the majority of the nearly $18 million he owed his creditors.
[+] EnlargeMichael Vick
Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
Thanks in part to living on a budget of $300,000, veteran quarterback Michael Vick has paid off the majority of the $17.8 million he owed to creditors.
Since getting out of prison, where he served 548 days for taking part in an illegal dogfighting ring, Vick hasn't fully returned to his former self on the field, showing only flashes of the player he was before his career and life were derailed. But his financial comeback, while less public, has been quite successful.
While his actions involving dogs led some to believe he would never get back on the football field again, this year is Vick's sixth season of playing after serving his prison sentence. That's equal to the number of years Vick played before his prison term.
In the five-year period (2010 to 2014) in which he agreed to go on a restrictive budget to pay back his creditors, Vick earned more than $49 million during four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the New York Jets.
Joseph Luzinski, a senior vice president at Development Specialists Inc., a management consultancy firm and the liquidating trustee in Vick's bankruptcy, said that because of the amount of money Vick made, he has paid off more than $15 million (84.7 percent) of the $17.8 million he owed. Luzinski said there is still a real estate asset to be sold after Vick's deal with his creditors ends Dec. 31, which could raise the amount he has repaid.
"What Michael did was the exception, not the rule," Luzinski said. "He didn't have to do this. The law allows you to skate by and pay your creditors 10 or 20 cents on the dollar, but he thought this was the right thing to do."
Vick said he could have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy instead of Chapter 11, which he ultimately chose. The former would have meant most of his debts would have been forgiven.
"I didn't want to stiff people who never stiffed me," Vick said.
He said he is thrilled the plan worked out.
"I feel blessed because I came out and found myself in a position where I had a lot of people that really believed in me, people who gave me an opportunity," Vick said. "At the time, it wasn't about trying to fulfill all the bankruptcy needs. I was trying to fulfill all the needs that I had in my life because I had nothing."
