As a Philadelphia region resident, I was very surprised when the Eagles signed Michael Vick in August. I am an avid animal lover and had reserves about the image that signing Vick sent to the public. My first thought was, “what purpose does this deal serve?” It has taken 12 weeks, but I think I finally figured it out.

This week, after reading the terms of the deal, I realized that the deal includes a provision where the team has until the fifth day of the league year in 2010 to pick up the team’s option for a second year. Originally, it seemed like Philadelphia’s idea was that this would give them some time to potentially trade Vick before deciding whether or not to pick up Vick for next season. I thought the Eagles would work him back into playing shape slowly, then maybe use him in a WildCat scenario as a running option. To me this would showcase his talent best. This would then pave way for another team to trade for him to use either as a QB or for use in the WildCat as a runner or even receiver.

However, the Eagles have not done much to showcase Vick this season. He has appeared sparingly for the Eagles so far this season. And when given the chance, Vick hasn’t taken advantage of his playing time. He currently is 3 for 9 passing for a mere 6 yards. He has also ran 15 times for 65 yards. He has yet to score (Editor’s Note: Again these stats do not consider yesterday’s output). These are hardly numbers that will generate much trade interest from other teams.

To me, it seems unlikely that anyone will make a trade with the Eagles after watching him so far, unless Vick somehow shines in the remainder of the season and postseason. Vick will inevitably sign with some team other than the Eagles next year. Its hard to see how they could exercise an option to pay him $3.75 million as a backup. He likely will become a free agent and then sign elsewhere. The Eagles would then lose out on any potential trade that Vick could bring. What purpose did signing Vick serve for the Eagles organization?

The only answer I could come up with is that it put them in the national spotlight for a time and also took some of the city’s attention away from the Philadelphia Phillies as they made their run to the World Series. Since Vick has had no impact on the field, it seems to me like Vick was a $1.6 million marketing tool designed to generate interest in the Eagles and sell tickets and merchandise. I’m sure it has generated more interest in the team by way of ticket sales and merchandise sales.

However, the situation could have blown up in the Eagles face. They could have lost several fans who love animals more than football. I for one am one of them. But I still watch the Eagles, so I guess their plan worked. I do question management’s decision to invest $1.6 million in Vick if this was their true goal. I can think of numerous other ways to invest the money that are not as likely to lose fans.

As the Sixers have recently signed Iverson for the remainder of the season in part to boost ticket sales, you have to wonder if this will be a recurring marketing trend in sports: Sign a player who is controversial in order to sell tickets.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello mentioned that Doty’s ruling on Vick’s bonuses was upheld in large part because the 8th Circuit found the contract’s forfeiture language ambiguous.

The ruling allows the Philadelphia Eagles backup Quarterback to keep more than $16 million in roster bonuses from the Atlanta Falcons.  The court claimed that Vick had already earned the bonus money before he was convicted of federal dog fighting crimes and the money was NOT subject to forfeiture laws.

Vick could certainly use the additional money to help pay off creditors and start over now that he is back on the playing field.  He is set to earn  $1.6 million from the Eagles this year with a team option for the second year at $5.2 million.

Obviously the NFL was not happy about the appellate court’s decision to agree with Judge Doty’s previous ruling.  Doty has handled NFL cases including Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) matters for years.  However, after his first decision in this case, the NFL began accusing the Judge of being biased and attempted to end his oversight of its contract with the players union.

Unfortunately, after the decision that the 8th circuit handed down, it looks like the relationship between the NFL and Judge Doty will continue a bit longer.

I know it’s going back in time, but with everything that’s going on, I couldn’t help but think back to my most hated athlete of all time: Leonard Little. After leaving a birthday party drunk in 1998, Little crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler in St. Louis. When tested, his blood alcohol level measured 0.19, which exceeds the statutory level of intoxication of 0.08 in the state of Missouri. Little received a measly 90 days in jail, four years probation and 1000 hours of community service. Six years later, Little was again arrested for drunk driving and speeding. Police filed a statement saying Little had bloodshot and watery eyes, smelled of alcohol and failed three sobriety tests. Because of Little’s 1999 guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter in his drunken-driving crash case, prosecutors charged him as a persistent offender. This made it a felony case. Little was acquitted of driving while intoxicated, and was convicted only of the misdemeanor speeding charge. Little killed someone and served 90 days in jail; with only a slap on the wrist Little apparently didn’t learn his lesson, for good reason I guess. Severe crimes, with virtually no punishment. Talk about Law and Order.

Recently, we have had the privilege to read about athletes gone criminal with the likes of Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth and Plaxico Burress. Let’s just review. Vick just finished up close to a two year sentence for heading a dog fighting ring. He served his time and is now looking for a second chance in the NFL. In Vick’s case I believe the punishment fit the crime.

Stallworth is receiving 30 days in jail, probation, and community service. He killed a man while driving drunk. Talk about a blunder in the law, its Leonard Little all over again. I keep hearing legal experts defend such a lenient punishment, saying that he cooperated with the law, that he has a clean record, and that the family wanted this issue quickly resolved. I don’t care if this guy was a saint, how does he not only get a DUI, but also kills a man and only gets 30 days in jail? How can anyone justify this? Vick gets 2 years for running a dog fighting ring, and Stallworth gets a month in jail for killing a human being.

Now to the last pending case: Plaxico Burress. Burress suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound when his pistol began sliding down his leg; apparently in reaching for the gun he inadvertently pressed the trigger, causing the gun to fire. The following Monday, Burress eventually turned himself in to police to face charges of criminal possession of a handgun. Plaxico didn’t have a New York license to carry a concealed weapon. The minimum punishment for unlawfully carrying a handgun is 3½ years. Even Mayor Bloomberg has chimed into this ordeal saying that if Burress doesn’t face the fullest extent of the punishment that it would be making “a mockery of the law”. Bloomberg makes it sound like it’s a pretty straight forward penalty, carry an unlicensed handgun and go to jail for 3 ½ years. So how is it possible that Plaxico does not receive that same penalty? It seems like the only the person doing something about these athletes is Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner. While he doesn’t have a say in the legal system, in the NFL he’s the judge, jury and executioner and doing one heck of a job.

Oh, by the way, the man responsible for stealing Lance Armstrong’s bike is facing 3 years in prison. Going to jail for stealing a bicycle. At least someone is facing the wrath of the law. With the majority of today’s athletes receiving little to no punishment for such crimes, it’s no surprise that some of these guys make bonehead mistake after bonehead mistake. It’s time for the rich and famous to receive the same punishment as the average citizen.

Football

• Largest increase in 3 years. And I predict a new CBA will be signed before the start of next season [Final adjustment increases salary cap].
• Sheldon Brown deserves more money, but who told him to sign a 9-year deal when he was 25-years-old? [The Early Extension of Young Players' Contracts].
• The guy has made a lot of money for his clients.. [Drew Rosenhaus, good or evil for the NFL??].
• My man, Kevin Sullivan, gives his advice to the Vick Camp [The PR campaign: A four-point plan for Vick].
• And Adam Ostrow of Mashable.com has some ideas of his own [Can Social Media Help Repair Michael Vick’s Image?].

Basketball

• King James makes roughly $25 million a year from endorsements alone (including a nice deal with Bubblicious) [NBA AM: LeBron James Staying Put].
• Shaq is serious about a career in broadcasting [IT'S ALL SHAQ-ADEMIC].

Sports Business

• What do you think about Danica Patrick’s new Twitter campaign? [Danica Patrick, Twitter, and Sponorships].

In a report that sounds like the set-up to a Longest Yard joke but is apparently completely serious, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News writes that Michael Vick is playing football in prison.

Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback who pleaded guilty to felony charges related to his Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting ring, is in a minimum security satellite prison camp at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. And Myers reports that Falcons owner Arthur Blank has received letters from Vick that detail his prison football games

What happens when you are a celebrity that is not wanted in your previous profession? You become a Hollywood actor. Don’t get it twisted, I still have faith in Vick and his abilities but it may be time that Vick starts examining other ways to capitalize on the brand that he created (before the dog fighting allegations). Vick can be a marketer’s dream when he gets out of prison in 2009. There are a lot of products that could be sold using Vick’s image.

Acting could be the ticket for the athlete his father nicknamed “Bullet” early in childhood. How about professional wrestling? Zab “Money” Judah made some decent bank. The music industry? Microphone Mike Vick is kind of catchy. We all know troubled NFL legend, OJ Simpson made some great film appearances in his day. Yes, this post is half tongue and cheek, but really, what do you do when you can’t come back home (to football)?

It’s a good thing for Tripp Isenhour that we no longer run a ‘Nightmare Clients Of the Week’ column anymore. As you’ve probably already read, Isenhour, represented by John Mascatello and SFX Golf, faces misdemeanor criminal charges (up to 14 months in prison and $5,000, if convicted, per government sources) for his ‘one-in-a-million’ shot that ended up killing a protected migratory hawk at the Grand Cypress Resort in Florida (where a film crew had been busy filming an increasingly irate Isenhour for an instructional video, during which time the hawk began making loud, distracting noises).

Oddly, it took three months for this story to come out, though the details are still freshly sordid. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine, Isenhour “got into a golf cart and drove closer to the bird and started hitting balls into the sky. When the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Isenhour allegedly said, ‘I’ll get him now,’ and aimed for the hawk. After getting closer and closer to hitting the bird and getting more excited, Isenhour hit the hawk and it fell to the ground and died.”

Much to do about nothing? Isenhour’s fellow pros certainly think so. “It’s a bad break for the bird, but it sounds like there are a lot of other things people should be worried about,” Mark Calcavecchia said later. Tour brass, as expected, took a more diplomatic route. PGA Tour executive VP Ty Votaw called the entire event “unfortunate,” right after the head of the Humane Society faxed Tour commissioner Tim Finchem a letter urging “appropriate remedial action against Isenhour up to and including fines and suspension.” Ultimately, the stiffest penalty Isenhour will pay will be from fans, and perhaps the loss of sponsors. As Michael Vick can attest, you don’t mess with animals and escape public wrath. Jail time, fine, or not, at the very least Isenhour is sure to go down in eternal infamy as a dumbass.

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Daly, Butchie and Chucky

Another troubled SFX client, John Daly, got (another) wake-up call this week. Months after losing several key sponsors (TaylorMade, Maxfli, Hooters and 84 Lumber), Daly’s longtime friend and swing coach, Butch Harmon, said that he “was not going to waste his time with a two-time major champion who is more interested in drinking than working on his golf game.”

Daly meanwhile, without a Tour card, has been relying on the largesse of sponsors exemptions (including the ones he’s suing) with which to get by. Even Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden pitched in during last week’s PODS Championship, carrying Daly’s bag en route to a 77 and an 80. A few (dozen) brews at the tournament’s Hooters “Owl’s Nest” put out those flames, and Daly seemed happy as ever, even signing his name to the back of a woman’s pants. But for Harmon, the whole circus of it all was the final straw. “When things don’t go right (for John), it’s back to the alcohol stuff,” Harmon said. “I love this kid. He’s a tremendous talent. But if he’s not going to give 100 percent effort, it’s a waste of my time.” Even the commish seemed taken aback. “We’ve worked with John in the past, and we’ll continue to be available to work with him in the future regarding his issues,” Finchem muttered.

Speaking of time, Daly was a no-show this past Wednesday morning for the pro-am round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational automatically disqualifying him from the tournament itself (PGA Tour rules require those in the pro-am to participate or risk being ineligible for the event. And it applies to alternates, whose job it is to know where they are on the list and be prepared in case someone drops out). Another exemption gone. Another day in the life of John Daly.

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Arjun Atwal: Back In The Fast Lane

Things are looking up for once-Nightmare client Arjun Atwal (pictured), represented by Bobby Kreusler and Blue Giraffe Sports. Atwal joined the PGA Tour in 2003 as its first Indian-born player, but lost his card after failing to finish in the top 125. While he was later implicated in a lingering investigation for his role in a fatal car crash that saw the Indian pro getting his ‘Fast and the Furious’ on, Atwal was finally cleared of all charges by Florida prosecutors this past week. Meanwhile, things are improving on the course for Atwal as well. Atwal won the Malaysian Open this past Sunday, and finished second on the Nationwide Tour’s Panama Movistar Championship in January. Asked about his improved play, Atwal credited practice rounds with none other than Tiger Woods.

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World’s number-one Lorena Ochoa “likes the way she’s started” 2008, and who wouldn’t? Ochoa cruised in the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore by 11 strokes over second-place finisher Annika Sorenstam, relegating the Swede to “Phil Mickelson status” in the process. Yahoo! Sports Josh Peter weighed in with a nice piece on “the real Lorena,” which features comments from ex-agent Rocky Hambric. Ochoa, at the request of her one-time caddy and brother Alejandro Ochoa, left Hambric in 2005, turning over to him control of her business affairs. Alejandro now oversees Ochoa Sports Management, Ochoa Golf Academy and the Lorena Ochoa Foundation. “He also works hard to protect and shape her public image, and frequently erects a wall that separates the private Lorena from the media,” writes Peter.

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Speaking of Rocky Hambric, rumors are swirling that stud client, Anthony Kim, has either jumped ship, or may in fact be in the process of doing so. Hambric Sports Management has been a long time player in the golf management game, and even ‘expanded’ in a way in 2002, when CSS, a British sports-management and marketing company, acquired a minority stake in Hambric. As part of the deal, Hambric became CEO of Stellar Golf, CSS’ golf-management business in North America and Europe. Where could Kim be headed? The smart money, as always, says IMG. If true, one would hope the latest Hambric ‘divorce’ ends a bit more amicably than the last one, when Rocky went to court against IMG and his former client, Charles Howell III.

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Other News

* The annual Golf Digest Top 50 tracks the leaders in total (on-course plus off-course) income. Remember that their agents don’t make a dime of on-course income, but may make upwards of twenty-percent to one-quarter of their off-course contracts. Do the math on some of these guys.

* The LPGA goes You Tube. Check out their channel. I know Hound Dog will. I’ll probably stick to checking out other random stuff.

* More great college golf coverage from Golf World’s Campus Insider Ryan Herrington, including analysis of the recent Stacy Lewis-Amanda Blumenherst duel that I’m guessing had a few prospective agents/managers in attendance.

* Nice piece by The Chicago Tribune’s Ed Sherman regarding Ernie Els, who told Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press that his five-year old son Ben is autistic. The next person who goes on a cliched rant about Els being preoccupied psychologically by thoughts of finishing-second to Tiger Woods should maybe think a little deeper.

* Callaway Golf introduced a stylish, Fall 2008 golf line for women. Pebble Beach meets Paris.

* TaylorMade-Adidas Golf and the Royal Canadian Golf Association announced a new three-year agreement in which TMAG will become the official golf equipment and apparel partner of the RCGA.