Mike Vick's redemption story is nearly complete. On the field, he may not be an MVP candidate or even a starter, but he's established himself as a solid citizen in the community as well as a locker room pillar on the job.
Vick still retains his elusiveness, but more importantly, the Jets quarterback has now escaped debt.
In July of 2008, Vick had fewer options than Calvin who worked at WacArnolds. One year later, the Eagles gave him a job, Donovan McNabb was traded, Kevn Kolb went down, the Eagles handed him a bigger check and the rest is history.
Fortunately, things worked out better for Vick and his family than it did for Calvin.
According to Joseph Luzinski, the Vice President of a management consultancy firm and the liquidating trustee in Vick's bankruptcy, Vick has paid off more than $15 million of the $17.8 million he owed creditors after he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while in prison thanks to a $300,000 annual budget. A real estate asset which will be sold soon will help close that final difference and give Vick his financial freedom.
What's most impressive is that Vick went above and beyond what was legally required of him.
"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."
