Michael Vick Signs 1-Year, $40 Million Contract with 5 Option Years

That headline isn't really the deal that Michael Vick just signed. Actually, though, it basically is. That's one of the things about the NFL that is strange. While headlines all over the country will be hyping the six-year, $100 million contract that Vick signed, the reality of the deal is in the headline above.

In actuality, "just" $40 million of the deal is guaranteed. 

There are no guaranteed contracts in the National Football League. Fans can argue all day about whether that is fair. Both sides have a case. 

Football is a very dangerous sport. Players routinely suffer injuries that end their careers. Even more frequently injuries are suffered that rob players of their natural abilities not enough to end their careers but enough to change the level at which they perform. 

A pro-bowler can become a starter, a starter can become a reserve, a reserve can become a marginal NFL player. Any and all of these scenarios happen every season. This reality ensures the owners from being saddled with Alex Rodriguez like NFL contracts.

Alex Rodriguez is currently in the middle of a contract that pays him between $20 million and $30 million a year through the end of the 2017 season.

That's all guaranteed money. The Yankees are on the hook for all of it. That's no problem when Alex Rodriguez is healthy and productive, but since it's only the middle of 2011 and already he's becoming an injury-prone player, this is going to be an issue. 

It's not going to be an issue in Philadelphia, though. If Vick falters, not with the law mind you. If Vick just doesn't work out as a starter, if he throws too many picks, if he loses a step or if he suffers an injury, then Vick will be one of those big-name NFL players who gets cut every year and then signs a one-year deal with another team. 

It's probably about time that everyone starts discussing NFL contracts in real terms. This contract isn't for six years and $100 million. It's a one-year deal worth $40 million followed by five one-year options at $12 million each. Those are the parameters (not the money, the years) of every NFL deal. 

When fans get upset about someone like Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson engaging in a prolonged holdout as he is currently in the midst of, there's a good reason behind it. Johnson wants to renegotiate his deal.

There are always cries about how "he signed a contract and should live up to it." That sounds good, but it's not that simple. Running back is the most injury-prone position in a sport that is already plagued by serious health risks. The average running back has a career of under four years.

Johnson is entering his fourth season in the NFL and is looking for a big contract. He knows his clock is ticking. He currently makes just over $1 million a year a result of him being a low first round pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

It's not the years on the contract or the total sum of the contract that is probably preventing Johnson and the Titans from reaching a deal. It's the bonus. It's that first season. It's the guaranteed money.

That's what drives the NFL players in contract negotiations. It's a situation that is embraced by the owners. They know that in the court of public opinion an athlete not adhering to a contract that he signed off on is a risky move. Under the current and now future labor rules this won't be changing.

The owners also know that they could prevent holdouts by offering guaranteed contracts but that would cost them dearly. Every year there would be another player suffering a career altering injury and yet collecting the contract they received while playing at or near 100 percent health.

In the end, the real losers in this scenario are of course the fans who are forced to either side with their athletic idols who aren't playing in an effort to get a better contract, or embrace the efforts of the owners who will cut a player with a big contract the instant their health creates an imbalance of financial risk.

Michael Vick six years and $100 million? Better read the fine print on that one.