Michael Vick Re-Signs With Nike

Marks Step Forward for Embattled Quarterback after Prison Sentence; Details of Deal Not Revealed

(AP)  Michael Vick is back with Nike two years after the company severed ties over the quarterback's involvement in a dogfighting ring.

"Mike has a long-standing, great relationship with Nike, and he looks forward to continuing that relationship," his agent, Joel Segal, said Wednesday.

Segal would not reveal terms of the agreement. Nike declined a request for comment.

The deal was announced during a panel discussion at the Sports Sponsorship Symposium by Michael Principe, the managing director of BEST, the agency that represents Vick.

The endorsement is the latest step forward for Vick as he seeks to rehabilitate his career and his image after serving 18 months in federal prison. On Sunday, Vick played his first regular-season game since December 2006.

"It is quite evident that athletes that run afoul of the law are by no means relegated to obscurity when it comes to pitching products," said David Carter, a professor of sports marketing at the University of Southern California.

Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 13. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave him his full reinstatement Sept. 3, saying he could return to the field in Week 3.

Vick participated in 11 plays, accounting for 30 total yards, in the Eagles' 34-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, as Philadelphia tries to use him in a variety of ways as a backup.

Nike, which signed Vick as a rookie in 2001, terminated his contract in August 2007 after the Atlanta Falcons star filed a plea agreement admitting his involvement in the dogfighting ring. At the time, Nike called cruelty to animals "inhumane, abhorrent and unacceptable" and halted release of his fifth signature shoe, the Air Zoom Vick V.

Back when Vick first signed with the Eagles, Carter had said he was "too toxic for most companies to even consider taking a chance on him." What's changed? As Carter noted Wednesday, there has been little backlash to the quarterback's return to the NFL.

Protests have been limited, and the Eagles' sponsors have stood by them. That experience could make companies less wary about adding Vick as an endorser, though the biggest determinant might be no different from any other athlete: how well he performs on the field.

Retailer Dick's Sporting Goods said earlier this month that it wasn't carrying Vick's Eagles jersey in any of its 300 stores as a business decision.

But Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at University of Oregon, isn't surprised that Nike re-established its relationship with Vick.

"Nike has a history of supporting athletes. I think they are supporting an athlete who still garners attention," Swangard said. "This is about Michael Vick as the athlete not Michael Vick the prisoner. ... When he is inside the lines of the field he is an exciting football player and that's what a brand like Nike can tap into."

Vick signed a $1.6 million deal with the Eagles, with a team option for the second year at $5.2 million. He was once a corporate star - holding multimillion dollar deals to market everything from sneakers to sports drinks. But those millions are long gone.

In July, Vick filed for bankruptcy protection while serving his sentence, saying he owed between $10 million and $50 million to creditors.

To Carter, Nike likely made a calculated business decision that the benefit of sales tied to Vick outweighed any potential public outrage.

Vick must still have some selling power if the company is getting behind him, he said. "Nobody understands their consumer and has their finger on the pulse of their consumer like Nike does."

[met_man]

most off you all are idiots. about halfway through the comments someone put up that its all false and there is no deal. why are you all still complaining about nike. you must really think your measly $100 missing from nikes billion dollor business is gonna hurt. they wont even notice. vick paid his dept to society and is doing all he can to regain the trust of american. its a holes like this site that keep ********.

[Glork]

My kids will go with the no-name sports stuff and we'll donate our NIke gear to the nupcoming rummage sale. It's a shame that these Nike executives didn't have parents who taught them that there are some things that money cannot buy, and those are the best things to own up to.

[micheleisfree]

I will be boycotting Nike.

[heresmy2cent]

Vick will suffer the same fate as Martha Stewart. Another convict that mistakenly thinks the public will love them no matter what they do (or are convicted of).

Nike executives must be insane to use this piece of garbage as a sponsor. Nike will lose money over this foolish decision.

[pubsrtoast]

Since they pay their Vietnamese slave labor $59 a month to assemble their shoddy product, they can afford someone like Vick to hock their $100 plus tennis shoes to the unemployed American worker they left behind.

[SocietysNightmare]

American Capitalism. This is not new, or exclusive to NIKE. Welcome to reality.

[SocietysNightmare]

oops ..... "Now you're upset"

[SocietysNightmare]

Here we go again with the noise about Michael Vick. I doubt very seriously if NIKE will suffer a loss for their decision. After all, most who of you objecting in this post are NOT the demographic NIKE targets. It's time to move on. The crime Vick committed was distasteful to many ..... we get it. But he has already served his time and he has already lost so much. Now your upset because he stands to regain what he lost? The word petty comes to mind. How many of you sabre rattlers ever did anything for a stray?

[EileenMc13]

I will not be purchasing any thing more from Nike. Instead of using Vick, they should be donating to Animal Cruelty. Disgusting!

[ramos1129]

Nike later came out with a press release stating that they had not resigned Vick. What they had done was to supply product to Vick and many other pro jocks as good will. Vick's agents now have egg on their faces. Vick should fire the lot of them. BTW, Vick, aside from wearing Nike's free shoes, played no role in this mess.

[FrankieRuffie]

Even though my home town, Memphis, plays a huge part in the making of Nike sports products, I have lost all respect for them. This is unacceptable and will damage the reputation of Nike for many years to come. It shows the lack of respect they have for animals just as Michael Vick by re-signing him after what he did.

[mjb89]

He didn't even begin to serve the time he deserved. I'll be the 11th person who will never buy Nike products again. Maybe all this will produce a ground swell and Nike WILL realize that some of us aren't buying anymore.

[rbuege]

Hide your beagle, Vicks an Eagle. Nike should be ashamed of itself that it has as a spokesperson such a depraved individual. Michael Vick was not some poor ghetto person who fought dogs to earn money to feed himself and his family. He was a multi-millionaire who fought dogs for the bloodlust and the approval of his "peer group." My only wish was that the court that sentenced him would have had the balls, not manufactured by Nike, to sentence him to 10 minutes in a pit with some of his dogs. Let him see life from the other side of the leash. Well, its good for Adidas, they will be getting all of my future sporting goods equipment money. No more $$ to anything with a Nike swoosh.

[myfinn]

Couldn't agree more!!

[tireslinger]

Nike must be getting hit hard by this country's tough economy...shakes head. I was suprized that anyone team signed him, especially this soon, after he finished his incarcaration. With Nike, I am no less than shocked. Well, count me in...I am quite done with any Nike products, and I mean any of them. My tshirts, are already cut up for rags. I'd do it to my shorts too, but they make crappy rags...they're in the trash. Even is Nike cut Vick again, I'll never buy another one of their products. Are you listening Nike execs??? Consumers talking with their wallets, are more powerful than you know~

[echoec]

If this was me, would I be given a second chance at being rich? NO If any of those dogs were mine, I have no doubt what I would do. This guy is a pig and does not deserve anything in life. I used to love Nike, guess I will not be buying it anymore EVER gain! This sorry excuse for a life makes me sick!

[whatsup49]

i'll never own another pair of nikes, new balance, or any other nike brand. too bad, cuz i love new balance. i for one will not contribute to his paycheck.

[mcyclonegt]

I can't find any proof that Nike owns New Balance. In fact I found that they are the only shoe company that still makes shoes in America. Where did you find that info.

[flagwavrblue]

I will not buy another product from Nike. There are American made shoes and apparel that are much better. Yes, he has served his time, but as a consumer you have the right to purchase things based on your conscience. It was foolish of Nike to take him back. There are plenty of other mediocre athletes out there that play by the rules.

[barbferree]

I don't believe a person should be punished forever. We all deserve a second chance, just don't let it happen again. The justice system decided his punishment, he served it and should be allowed to re-establish a life just as every human being who has ever made a mistake is allowed to do. I am glad for him and I think he learned a lesson, he did after all go bankrupt. Oh yea and this is not a white / black thing people, this is a human being thing. (FYI - I am white). The gentlemen from Atlanta has an awful lot of hatred for white people and it is really sad. If he could focus some of that hatred on something else that really means something wow, wouldn't that be great!
My only other comment on another totally different note is, that I wish the system could be as forgiving to Pete Rose. That man does deserve more than anything to be in the baseball hall of fame and everyone knows it. If they can say that what Vick did had nothing to do with how he played football then why can't they give credit to Pete Rose for being one of the greatest baseball players of all time. What he did was wrong but it had nothing to do with his accomplishments as a player. Mike Vick is lucky the system has not made him pay as long as they have Pete Rose. Oh yea and he is white so explain that one, Mr prejudice.
My

[echoec]

None of them must have been your dog that was used for bait. Maybe you would sing a different tune if it had been?

[jclark7613]

Nike pay workers in Asia 1.25 a day to make the shoe and then charge 190.00 for one pair. That should be the crime not Mike Vicks being re-signed. One worker in Asia can produce 10 pair in a day but I forgot that's not a good reason not to Nike shoes because that doesn't affect our families and children in America.

[danbee3]

Nike HUSHPUPPIES ?

[Henri_Rochard]

Would I put a pair of Nikes on my aching DOGS ?? No way.

[eferrell2]

I never wanted a pair of Nikes in the first place. Their sneaker is no better than any other, just higher priced to pay for their high profile spokespersons (i.e., Michael Jordan). You were all fools to pay that high dollar in the first place!

What does buying over-priced sneakers under any circumstances say to our youth, hull7777?