Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports

When Michael Vick was released from jail after serving 548 days for involvement in a dogfighting ring, he owed creditors nearly $18 million dollars. Vick agreed to live on a restrictive budget and use two-thirds of every dollar he earned to pay off creditors and taxes. Six years after he made his return to the NFL, Vick is almost debt-free.

Vick signed a six-year, $100-million deal with the Eagles in 2010 that was eventually restructured in 2013 after Nick Foles emerged, which cost injury-prone Vick millions. He then signed with the Jets in 2014, and altogether has earned more than $49 million since returning to the league, according to ESPN. Vick could had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy years ago and had his debts forgiven, but he instead filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and worked to pay back what he owed (which included $6.5 million to the Falcons for a 2004 signing bonus).

Via ESPN:

“I feel blessed because I came out and found myself in a position where I had a lot of people that really believed in me, people who gave me an opportunity. At the time, it wasn’t about trying to fulfill all the bankruptcy needs. I was trying to fulfill all the needs that I had in my life because I had nothing.”

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