Michael Dwayne Vick, born June 26, 1980 in Newport
News, Virginia, is a suspended National Football
League (NFL) quarterback under contract with the
Atlanta Falcons team serving a 23 month sentence of
incarceration for criminal conspiracy resulting from
felonious dog fighting. A U.S. federal district
court convicted and sentenced him in 2007, and a
2008 trial is scheduled for related Virginia state
felony charges for his role in the dogfighting ring
and related gambling activity. He is being held in
the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth,
Kansas.
After becoming a standout high school football
player with Newport News Public Schools, he was
awarded a scholarship to attend Virginia Tech, where
his football career included a trip to the 2000
Sugar Bowl, the BCS title game. He left Virginia
Tech without graduating after three years, and
became the top pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. His early
career included league records, playoff appearances
and lucrative endorsements, and he would eventually
receive a contract for $130 million in 2004, making
him the highest paid NFL player at the time, with
additional income from many product endorsement
arrangements.
