Michael Vick has done more to redeem himself than most people do

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When Michael Vick filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2008, his only income came from mopping floors at 12 cents an hour in the early morning hours at Leavenworth prison.

Less than seven years later, Vick is weeks away from paying off the majority of the nearly $18 million he owed his creditors.

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In the five-year period (2010 to 2014) in which he agreed to go on a restrictive budget to pay back his creditors, Vick earned more than $49 million during four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and one with the New York Jets.

Joseph Luzinski, a senior vice president at Development Specialists Inc., a management consultancy firm and the liquidating trustee in Vick's bankruptcy, said that because of the amount of money Vick made, he has paid off more than $15 million (84.7 percent) of the $17.8 million he owed. Luzinski said there is still a real estate asset to be sold after Vick's deal with his creditors ends Dec. 31, which could raise the amount he has repaid.

"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."

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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.

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