Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick signs franchise tender
The Philadelphia Eagles applied the franchise tag to quarterback Michael Vick in mid-February amidst speculation and uncertainty regarding the status of their other potential starting quarterback, Kevin Kolb. On Wednesday, Michael Vick signed that franchise
tender and officially became an Eagles player for 2011.
All contract negotiations and signings between players and teams must conclude at the latest before midnight on Thursday. Any player who hasn’t signed with a team by that deadline will have to wait until the National Football League (NFL) and the Players
Association (NFLPA) sign a new labour deal.
By signing this tender Vick will stay with the Eagles for the 2011 season and be paid a guaranteed salary that would be the average of the five highest paid players in his position. Vick was given the exclusive franchise player tag by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Only three players were given the exclusive franchise tag in the off-season, one of them was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning however, still hasn’t signed his tender.
The exclusive franchise tag will pay Vick nearly $20 million for the 2011 season, while Manning’s exclusive franchise tag will earn him almost $23 million; which is 120 percent of his previous salary. Both Manning and Vick are expected to be signed to long-term
contracts when the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is signed and teams can once more sign players to the roster.
Negotiations with Vick were complicated by the lack of a CBA. Vick was signed by the Eagles to a two-year contract which ended in the 2010–11 season after missing two years of football in the dog fighting case. At the time of Vick’s signing, Donovan McNabb
was the starter for the Eagles and Kevin Kolb was his backup. Vick was the third stringer for the Eagles. In the 2010 season, Kolb became the starter but an injury sidelined him and put Vick in the spotlight.
During Kolb’s absence, Vick’s performance was so good that the Eagles decided to make him the starting quarterback ahead of Kolb. Vick led the Eagles to the National Football Conference (NFC) East title with a winning record of 10-6 in the regular season.
Even though Vick started only 12 games, he was able to set a career-high in passing yards with 3,018 yards. His 21 passing touchdowns in the season and nine rushing touchdowns were also career highs.
He was voted the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year for his performance and was in the running for MVP alongside New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Vick made an estimated $5.25 million in the uncapped year of 2010. Since a new labour deal wasn’t signed, NFL clubs were bound by what is known as the 30 percent rule. According to the rule, in the last year of a labour deal, NFL clubs are not allowed to
re-sign players for more than 30 percent of the value of their previous contracts.
Before the dog fighting controversy, Michael Vick was one of NFL’s elite quarterbacks and his skills were obviously undiminished even after missing two seasons of football. After last season’s stunning performance, Vick was on his way to recover his former
glory. He was clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the 2010 season.
If the Eagles offered Vick a contract just 30 percent more than $5.25 million, Vick could have walked away and been signed by any number of teams that are desperately looking for a capable quarterback. The franchise tag was applied to Vick to keep him from
entering free agency and signing him to a long-term contract as soon as the labour strife ends.
Tags: