NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Suspends Michael Vick Indefinitely Over Dogfighting Involvement.

Yesterday Michael Vick filed a plea agreement admitting to bankrolling a dogfighting operation and playing a part in the killing of dogs. The agreement portrayed him as less involved than his three co-defendants but guilty of poor judgment for associating with them in a dogfighting operation.

Vick did not admit to betting on dog fights or taking any of the proceeds from his co-defendant’s winnings.

There was speculation that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would wait until Monday when Judge Henry Hudson will formally accept Vick’s plea to take any formal action against Vick…but Goodell did no such thing. Instead, he immediately laid down the hammer suspending the Atlanta Falcons quarterback indefinitely without pay.

The commissioner said Vick’s admitted conduct was “not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible.”

Goodell said that Vick’s actions in funding the betting and his association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of his NFL player contract and expose Vick to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.”

Now that Goodell has acted, Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons can now take steps to recover Vick’s $22 million signing bonus from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004.