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Michael Vick's rise to fame and fortune was short and swift. Born June 26, 1980, Michael Dwayne Vick grew up in a housing project in the East End of Newport News, Virginia, nicknamed Bad News or Bad Newz (the name Vick later gave his dogfighting kennel). At the age of three, Vick was already learning football basics from his father, also named Michael. Shortly thereafter he joined the Boys and Girls Club League.

In high school, Vick was a double threat as a quarterback. He amassed almost 5,000 yards passing, throwing for 42 touchdowns, while rushing for another 18 touchdowns and 1,000 yards.

Vick attended college at Virginia Tech but never graduated. After a spectacular freshman season where he led the N.C.C.A. in passing efficiency, won an ESPY Award as the nation's top college player, and finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and a still solid sophomore year ending in Vick being named Most Valuable Player in the Gator Bowl, Vick elected to go straight to the National Football League.

In 2001, Vick was the first player picked in the N.F.L. draft, by the Atlanta Falcons, but saw little playing time. The following year, Vick made the Pro Bowl and led the Falcons to the playoffs. During his next few seasons, Vick made the Pro Bowl twice more, went to the playoffs again, signed a 10-year contract netting him $130 million, and became the only quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.

Vick's plummet to the bottom came suddenly, even though there had been earlier hints that Vick was not a squeaky-clean role model. In 2005, Sonya Elliot sued Vick, claiming he knowingly gave her genital herpes. Vick was fined $10,000 for making obscene gestures at fans in 2006.

News about Vick's illegal dogfighting operation, Bad Newz Kennels, conducted at his property near Smithfield, Virginia, first began to circulate in April of 2007. By July 2007, Vick and three others were charged with interstate dogfighting, a felony offense. In November, Vick started serving time in Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia, part of a 23 month sentence, after which he will have three years of supervised probation. Vick also has been charged with 8 counts of animal cruelty.

There has been much fallout from Michael Vick's dogfighting conviction. Vick was suspended by Roger Goodell, the N.F.L. Commissioner. Six of the companies that Vick had endorsements with dropped him. The Atlanta Falcons took back $19.9 of Vick's $37 million bonus money.

The possibility exists that Vick could

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