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Michael Vick cashes in on big contract

By Lateef Mungin, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Vick shoots for Super Bowl with new contract
  • "I've learned a lot of lessons," the controversial QB says
  • The Eagles formally announced the $100 million, six-year deal Tuesday afternoon
  • "You talk about a comeback story," Mark Cuban says

(CNN) -- What a difference two years makes.

Two years ago, Michael Vick was just getting out of prison and had signed a contract as the third-string quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Last year, he lit the NFL on fire and won the Comeback Player of the Year award.

And now, Vick has signed a big money contract, worth $100 million for six years, the Eagles said. According to CNN affiliate WPHL, $40 million of that is guaranteed.

The team formally announced the deal Tuesday afternoon, with Vick vowing to "make the greatest contribution to this game that I can make" -- and hopefully bringing home a Super Bowl ring in the next six seasons.

"I know I can't play this game forever," he said. "I know the clock is ticking, and that's more motivation for me to get it done as early as I can."

Vick said he wanted to keep working with Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, who said the team "can't be happier" with their controversial quarterback. And for his part, Vick praised Reid and his staff for telling him "what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear."

"Nothing is going to come easy in life, and I've learned a lot of lessons -- some the hard way and some just standard procedure," he said. "But I think the things that I've been through have helped mold me into the person I am."

Vick's riches-to-rags-to-riches story has awed many in the sports world, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

"You talk about a comeback story," Cuban told CNN's Piers Morgan Monday night. "He went from jail to having problems to $40 million in the bank."

Vick's was No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, and was a star quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons. At one point, he was one of the highest earning athletes in any sport.

But then came his 2007 arrest on dogfighting charges and his spiral from NFL superstar to bankrupt inmate.

He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankrolling a dog fighting operation in Virginia, and served 20 months in federal prison.

He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. During the proceedings, he told the judge he earned 12 cents an hour as an overnight janitor while in prison.

The Eagles signed him in 2009. But with All-Pro starting quarterback Donovan McNabb and his heir apparent -- backup quarterback Kevin Kolb -- also on the team, Vick played sparingly in his first season.

He appeared at several public events with the Humane Society condemning dogfighting and supported legislation that cracked down on dogfighting.

In 2010, McNabb moved to the Washington Redskins and Kolb suffered a concussion. And there was no holding Vick back.

He led the Eagles to the playoffs, while putting up some of the best stats of his career.

"That's the American way, right? America loves second chances," Cuban said Monday night about Vick's reveral of fortune. "That's what we are all about. Hopefully he learned his lessons, learned from his mistakes and he'll be a better person for it."

CNN's Alfonso Savage contributed to this report.