Michael Vick is back pitching products.
The Philadelphia Eagles' Pro Bowl quarterback signed a two-year contract with Unequal Technologies, a provider of the football pads that Vick wore most of this past season. It's his first endorsement contract since his release from prison two years ago.
Vick also will receive a $1.9 million bonus for reaching certain contractural playing-time plateaus, NFL Network Insider Jason La Canfora reported Wednesday, citing a league source. Vick's base salary in 2010 was $3.75 million.
Vick's new endorsement deal officially will be announced Thursday.
"We're real excited about it," Unequal Technologies chief executive officer Rob Vito said Tuesday. "Michael is good people. He paid his dues. President Obama reached out to him. He deserves an opportunity. This is what makes America so great. He's moved forward. He's a whole other person."
Vito said Vick is the company's first corporate spokesman. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Vito said it's a "sizable" one.
"We believe it was worth it," he said, "because of Michael Vick and how he can shed light on the technology of our products."
Unequal Technologies makes several shock-blocking sports pads. When Vick returned after missing three games with a rib injury, he wore a vest designed by Unequal. He later wore shoulder pads and thigh pads made by the company.
"The Unequal technology is a part of my game now, and I won't play without my Unequal," Vick said in a to-be-released statement. "Unequal's protective power gives me a whole new level of confidence in my game. It makes me feel invincible."
Vick once was the NFL's highest-paid player, and he endorsed many products during his six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. But Vick lost everything following his 2007 arrest on dogfighting charges, for which he served 18 months in federal prison.
Vick appeared in a television commercial for a car dealership last month. However, he wasn't paid for it. He was compensated by having use of a Nissan sport-utility vehicle.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
