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Fallen NFL star Michael Vick has reportedly agreed to pay his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, at least $6.5 million as part of his bankruptcy case, as he severed ties with a team who no longer wants him back.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement was reached before Vick's bankruptcy hearing in Virginia on Thursday (April 2).
The quarterback is currently barred from the NFL as he serves out a nearly two-year sentence for operating a dogfighting ring. The Falcons are said to be trying to trade Vick, but if no deal is reached, the team is likely to cut its former star quarterback before the start of training camp.
"We were able to resolve our claim, in a way that was acceptable to Michael and acceptable to us," Falcons team president Rich McKay told the AP. "It was just a good, old-fashioned negotiation."
Vick owed the Falcons a reported $21.2 million for bonuses he received before his guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges, which has been settled.
The AP said that after an arbitrator sided with the team, the players union took the case to federal court, and a U.S. district judge reduced the amount to $3.75 million. However, the case remains on appeal.
"To resolve uncertainty over the amount of the Falcons' claim, the parties have determined that the Falcons will receive an allowed general unsecured claim in the debtor's bankruptcy case in the amount of $7.5 million," the court filing, which was entered last week, said. "If the district court's ruling is ultimately affirmed on appeal, the amount of the Falcons' claim will be reduced to $6.5 million."
Despite the settlement, McKay said that it won't speed up any decision to trade or cut Vick, though the Falcons have made it clear he will not play again for Atlanta.
Vick was being held in a general population block at the Suffolk jail, but had limited contact with other inmates, a jail spokeswoman said.
He is likely to be transferred to house arrested, but that will be no sooner than May 21, just two months before his scheduled release. After that, he hopes to resume his NFL career.
However, it's unknown whether any team will take interest in him, following his highly publicized downfall for his dogfighting ring.
As Vick's largest unsecured creditor, the Falcons would receive a prorated share of any future earnings he makes, but only after his secured creditors -- including banks and mortgage companies -- are paid first.
The suspected NFL player was once the league's highest-paid player, when he signed a $130 million, 10-year deal with the Falcons in December 2004. After he went to prison, the team filed a claim to recover bonuses he had earned from 2004 through 2007.
With the legal problems on his record, it's likely Vick will take a huge pay cut if another team decides to pick him up. The remainder of Vick's Atlanta contract was reportedly worth at least $45.11 million.
According to the Associated Press, the settlement was reached before Vick's bankruptcy hearing in Virginia on Thursday (April 2).
The quarterback is currently barred from the NFL as he serves out a nearly two-year sentence for operating a dogfighting ring. The Falcons are said to be trying to trade Vick, but if no deal is reached, the team is likely to cut its former star quarterback before the start of training camp.
"We were able to resolve our claim, in a way that was acceptable to Michael and acceptable to us," Falcons team president Rich McKay told the AP. "It was just a good, old-fashioned negotiation."
Vick owed the Falcons a reported $21.2 million for bonuses he received before his guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges, which has been settled.
The AP said that after an arbitrator sided with the team, the players union took the case to federal court, and a U.S. district judge reduced the amount to $3.75 million. However, the case remains on appeal.
"To resolve uncertainty over the amount of the Falcons' claim, the parties have determined that the Falcons will receive an allowed general unsecured claim in the debtor's bankruptcy case in the amount of $7.5 million," the court filing, which was entered last week, said. "If the district court's ruling is ultimately affirmed on appeal, the amount of the Falcons' claim will be reduced to $6.5 million."
Despite the settlement, McKay said that it won't speed up any decision to trade or cut Vick, though the Falcons have made it clear he will not play again for Atlanta.
Vick was being held in a general population block at the Suffolk jail, but had limited contact with other inmates, a jail spokeswoman said.
He is likely to be transferred to house arrested, but that will be no sooner than May 21, just two months before his scheduled release. After that, he hopes to resume his NFL career.
However, it's unknown whether any team will take interest in him, following his highly publicized downfall for his dogfighting ring.
As Vick's largest unsecured creditor, the Falcons would receive a prorated share of any future earnings he makes, but only after his secured creditors -- including banks and mortgage companies -- are paid first.
The suspected NFL player was once the league's highest-paid player, when he signed a $130 million, 10-year deal with the Falcons in December 2004. After he went to prison, the team filed a claim to recover bonuses he had earned from 2004 through 2007.
With the legal problems on his record, it's likely Vick will take a huge pay cut if another team decides to pick him up. The remainder of Vick's Atlanta contract was reportedly worth at least $45.11 million.
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