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Michael Vick’s new contract: What do NBC analysts think?

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The Philadelphia Eagles have officially hitched their success to quarterback Michael Vick, signing him to a six-year, $100-million deal that includes $40 million guaranteed. That pile of cash shows that the franchise truly believes Vick won’t veer off course now that he’s once again set for life, even though the potential for distractions is as high now as it has ever been.

On a “Football Night in America” conference call Tuesday, NBC analysts weighed in on whether the revival of Vick is complete, and if it’s a good thing that the Eagles reportedly have not included any “extra” conduct stipulations in his deal.

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NBC’s Tony Dungy, who visited Vick in prison when the quarterback was incarcerated for his role in a dogfighting ring, said the contract was a “success story for the Eagles” more than one for Vick.

For Vick, Dungy said, “It was a success story from the very beginning. I thought Michael was a changed person. Philadelphia gave him a chance to be the third-team quarterback, and he handled that well and did everything that he determined that he was going to do.

“He’s been a good person in the area. He’s been a leader on and off the field. This contract makes it a feel-good thing, but to me he has done what I hoped he would do two years ago.”

Cris Collinsworth, the network’s lead color analyst, said he was most impressed by Vick’s “humility that he brought to the workplace.”

“I know it takes a certain humility to walk into a building and admit that my work ethic wasn’t where it was supposed to be, my study habits weren’t where they were supposed to be, my discipline in the pocket, my making the reads,” he said. “That was what I found very impressive.”

Rodney Harrison, a former All-Pro safety, cautioned that, with the money Vick has, “now the pressure comes on him.”

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“He has his contract, and everything’s going good in his life,” Harrison said. “Can he keep the same humble spirit that he has? Can he continue to avoid the negativity, the dark side off the field? Because now this is where the pressure comes from friends, family members, people out in the street, people that he used to hang out with. They see $100 million.

“Now is where he’s going to be tested.”

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-- Sam Farmer

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