Philly's Own $100 Million Dollar Baby

In case you haven't heard the Eagles continued to make large strides to securing the first superbowl win in the history of the franchise last night by inking superstar QB Michael Vick to a brand new deal. The Eagles announced yesterday and are expected to confirm it in a press conference today at 2:30 that they have signed Vick to a 6 year, $100 million dollar contract. He is guaranteed $40 million dollars of that money without incentives and back end bonuses and is slated to make a little over $16 million a year. Now this contract is a far cry from when the Eagles first took a chance on Vick when he came out of prison and it shows how well he has progressed in the eyes of the organization.

Before Vick made his mark in Philly, McNabb was still at the helm. Now I love McNabb as much as the next guy and wish him well in Minnesota but as the years went by I started to realize that he wasn't the guy to lead us to a superbowl. He got close and in my eyes is the one of the best current QBs to never win a superbowl but without the right weapons, an offensive line that was bad to say the least and aging legs, McNabb's career in Philly was slowing slipping away.

With backup Kevin Kolb beginning to take first team snaps it was obvious that the Eagles had McNabb's replacement ready. Kolb was highly touted and at the time was to the Eagles brass, the future of the franchise. He was to be our QB of the future and to lead us forth.

It was at this time, in McNabb's final year with the Eagles that Vick was signed to a one year $1.6 million dollar contract with no guaranteed money. Plain and simple, the Eagles were taking a chance on Vick. If he didn't pan out they would have only wasted a measly million which to a football team as rich as the Eagles was like losing a penny.

In his first year with the team Vick was used only in the wildcat formation. No one was sure of his skill, athleticism and what he still had just coming out of prison and the Eagles still believed that Kolb was their guy. Vick wasn't great in the games he played in 2009 but he showed the Eagles enough that they decided to pick up his team option for 2010, giving Vick an additional $5 million.

The 2010 season began and Vick was listed on the QB depth chart 2nd to Kolb. Little did he know but he would be taking the reigns sooner than he thought.

In the first game of the season, Kolb and the lackluster Eagles defense had put us into a deep hole against the Packers. Kolb ended up getting injured and Vick was brought in to finish the game. Not a lot of people believed the Eagles could win and even though we didn't Vick made it close and competitive. His breakout game however came against McNabb and the Redskins when Vick threw for 333 yds, 4 TDs and rushed for 80 yds and 2 more TDs in a blow out win over the Skins. This was not only Vick's game of his career but it was also the best performance of the season by any QB.

In that game Vick proved he could still start and play at a high level. He led the Eagles to a great season and almost won league MVP. It was Vick's amazing 2010 that allowed the Eagles to trade Kolb and seal Vick's place as the franchise QB and to make him the 3rd highest player in the NFL, to only Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

So now that I established how Vick went from a million dollar man to a 100 million dollar man, I think it is time to ask the question everyone has on their mind: Is he worth it?

I think $100 million is a little too much for a guy who really just had one great season. The Vick before prison was good but never great. He ran more than he passed and often got into trouble. Now, the Vick we have has matured and is probably more in tuned to the mental aspects of the game than ever before. He is still quick and can still make great plays but I am not so sure he will replicate 2010. I believe he will have a solid year but I think last year was the exception not the norm. I'm glad the Eagles locked him up for the foreseeable future but he hasn't proven his consistency at least not yet like Brady and Manning have.

Now that Vick has Brady money he has to prove he was worth it. The Eagles are going to have a lot of expectations for Vick now that he is a 100 million dollar man and he needs to deliver. All of the pieces are in place for the Eagles to do well this year and with Vick at the helm it really does look to be superbowl or bust.

I'm glad the Eagles paid Vick but in closing thoughts I just hope the organization still has money to give to Jackson. I think he is more deserving of a high contract and he has certainly proven that. He is one of, if not the most explosive play maker in the NFL and he has averaged high numbers in catches, YPC, and TDs ever since he joined the team. If anyone deserves to paid more than $175,000 in this the final year of his rookie contract it is Jackson.

I'm sure Laurie has a plan to get our number one WR paid and happy by the start of the season but money doesn't grow on trees. The Eagles may have a young team but it is one that looks to be getting significantly better paid. Eventually the money will run out. I just hope it isn't before Jackson gets what he deserves.