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Before his legal troubles this past summer, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick had the richest contract in NFL history.
Yet despite the 10-year, $130-million (U.S.) deal he signed in 2004, Vick still needed a $2.5-million loan from the Royal Bank of Canada.
Now, with Vick's professional life in tatters after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge related to dogfighting, RBC would like its money back. And it's willing to go to court to get it, suing the former superstar for the $2.3-million it claims it is owed since Vick missed a deadline on Sept. 10.
The Toronto-based bank, which also does business in the U.S. South under its RBC Centura banner, is arguing that Vick's guilty plea on the federal charge and the resulting impact on his career have prevented him from repaying money he borrowed.
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Vick borrowed the money in January, with plans to use it for real-estate investments, the bank said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Newport News, Va.
In its lawsuit, Royal Bank said the loan's terms specify that any employment change reducing Vick's income constitutes a default on the loan.
"The defendant has been suspended by the National Football League from his employment as a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, or his employment is otherwise in jeopardy as a result of a plea bargain agreed to by the defendant in connection with criminal charges stemming from his involvement with a dogfighting ring," the legal filing said.
"The criminal charges and resulting impact on the defendant's employment constitute a material adverse change in the employment, performance, condition or prospects of the defendant which materially affect the his ability to repay the term note, and therefore constitute an event of default."
A Royal Bank spokeswoman in Toronto declined to comment on the case, citing client confidentiality. Lawyers for Vick and the Royal Bank could not be reached for comment.
Vick has admitted to helping kill six to eight dogs and faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in December. He has been indefinitely suspended without pay and has lost all his major sponsors, including Nike.
The case began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star's property and seized dozens of dogs, most of them pit bulls, and equipment commonly associated with dogfighting.
Six weeks later, with the local investigation perceived to be dragging and a search warrant allowed to expire, federal agents arrived with their own search warrants and started digging up dog carcasses buried days before the first raid.
