Michael Vick makes final payment, clears $17.6 million in debt
Retired NFL quarterback Michael Vick is a free man. Again.
On Thursday, Vick made a final $1.5 million payment to creditors, meaning he paid back $17.4 million of his $17.6 million debt, clearing what he owed after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2008.
“Paying 99 cents on the dollar, which he did, is remarkable,” senior vice president of Development Specialists Inc. Joseph Luzinski told ESPN. “It happens in, maybe, one out of 100 cases.”
After serving 548 days in jail for his part in an illegal dog-fighting ring, Vick faced down the additional consequences and vowed not to “stiff” anyone on the debt.
“I didn’t want to stiff people who never stiffed me,” Vick told ESPN at the time.
From 2010-2014, Vick went on a restrictive budget in order to pay back his creditors. Over that span and into 2015, Vick earned more than $50 million during stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring. He now works for Fox Sports as an NFL studio analyst.
The Atlanta Falcons ultimately lost out on $6.5 million for salary owed from 2009. Rather than gambling that Vick would pay it back, they sold the debt to Fortress Capital for an undisclosed amount of money.
