It’s not often you see a player happy with being designated a franchise player. While the designation typically represents a significant raise, the franchise tag offers little in the way of long-term stability as teams use it as a stop-gap or insurance policy protecting themselves from losing a valuable player to free agency. When the Philadelphia Eagles designated Michael Vick as the franchise player, though, Vick was happy with the choice, and likely even more pleased with the money he’ll be receiving in 2011.
Michael Vick Pleased With Franchise Tag, Happy To Be An Eagle
Vick is in line to make $17-20 million this coming year, a significant increase over the $5 million he made in 2010. On Tuesday, Vick had little to say, but it was clear he was having a great day.
Proud to be an Eagle . 2011 will be a huge success !
Mike Vick
MikeVick
Though Vick did receive the franchise tag, binding him to the Eagles in 2011, the ownership appears to be willing to work out a long-term deal with Vick, but needed to use the tag to secure exclusive negotiating rights while guarding against free agency.
The Eagles were unable to negotiate with Vick during the offseason after the quarterback fell under the NFL’s 30-percent rule, forcing negotiations to be cut-off after a player’s salary hits a given threshold within the season. For Vick, who made five times as much as he did in 2009, that deadline came early, forcing the Eagles to table extension talks until the offseason.
With a lockout looming, it’s unclear how far the two sides will get as they attempt to work out an extension, but Vick has tens of millions of reasons to be happy about being an Eagle this week.
For more on the Eagles, check out SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation.
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