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Vick, a former first overall draft pick who last suited up for a
National Football League game in 2015, will make his debut on
May 28, the last day of the regular season, according to the
source who said an official announcement is expected next week.
The 41-year-old Vick has not yet been assigned a team.
Vick is the latest high-profile player to sign up with Fan
Controlled Football, joining a group that includes Pro Football
Hall of Famer Terrell Owens and Johnny Manziel, whose much-hyped
NFL career fizzled out after two seasons.
According to the source, Vick agreed to a comeback after seeing
the success that good friend Owens has been having since he
signed with the league this year.
Fan Controlled Football, which this year doubled in size to
eight teams for its second season, is a condensed 7-on-7 style
of American football played on a 50-yard indoor field and acts
as a real-life video game that allows fans to call the plays.
Vick was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the first pick of
the 2001 NFL Draft, making him the first Black quarterback to be
taken with the top pick, and he went on to dazzle fans with his
breakaway running speed and powerful passing arm.
A standout in Atlanta for most of his six seasons with the
Falcons, Vick pleaded guilty in 2007 and apologized for his role
in an illegal dogfighting enterprise known as "Bad Newz Kennels"
that ultimately saw him spend nearly two years in prison.
Vick returned in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles where he
served as a seldom-used backup but took over the starting role
the next season and was at his best en route to being named the
NFL Comeback Player of the Year and earning the fourth Pro Bowl
selection of his career.
After five seasons with Philadelphia, Vick went on to be a
backup for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers in what
proved to be his final two NFL seasons.
Vick officially retired in 2017 after having passed for 22,464
yards and 133 touchdowns during 13 NFL seasons and his 6,109
career rushing yards remain the most by a quarterback.
Fan Controlled Football's seven-week regular season, which will
be followed by playoffs, kicked off in mid-April. All games are
being held at a single Atlanta facility.
Vick is expected to give a further boost to Fan Controlled
Football ratings which, five weeks into the season, have
surpassed all of last season's viewership combined.
According to Fan Controlled Football, it has attracted over 12
million viewers across Twitch, Peacock, NBCLX, DAZN and fubo
Sports Network this season.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
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