Dayna Verkouteren / AP

Artist rendering shows Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, wearing a black-and-white prison suit, along with his attorneys Billy Martin, left, and Lawrence Woodward, right, as he is sentenced Monday.

“Mr. Vick in life had numbed himself to a lot of events around him. That was, in a sense, his way of surviving,” Martin said.

Outside court, Woodward said Vick didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him.

“He just wants a chance to prove himself when all this is over,” he said. “But the other thing he said to me, which I also think is important for everyone to know, is that he understood that some of the things he was doing in life and off the field were dangerous, and he told me he feels lucky that he’s alive and not hurt and now it’s all about the future.”

That future now includes a stay at a still-undetermined federal prison. He has been held at a jail in Warsaw, Va., since voluntarily beginning his term.

In a plea agreement, Vick admitted bankrolling the dogfighting ring on his 15-acre property in rural Virginia. He admitted providing money for bets on the fights but said he never shared in any winnings.

The gruesome details about the dogfighting enterprise prompted a public backlash against the once-popular Vick and enraged animal-rights groups, which used the case to call attention to the brutality of dogfighting.

John Goodwin of the Humane Society of the United States called Vick’s sentence appropriate.

“People that are involved in this blood sport are on notice. You can throw your life away by being involved in this,” he said.

Along with the prison term, Vick was fined $5,000 and will serve three years’ probation after his release.

Two co-defendants were sentenced Nov. 30. Purnell Peace, of Virginia Beach, got 18 months. Phillips, of Atlanta, got 21 months. Another co-defendant, Tony Taylor, will be sentenced Friday.

All four men also are facing animal cruelty charges in Surry County Circuit Court. Trial has been set April 2 for Vick, March 5 for Phillips and Peace, and May 7 for Taylor.

More news

Jose Yau / AP

Offseason needs for NFC teams

Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.

Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Wesseling: Offseason priorities for AFC teams

Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.

Headlines

• Label

PFT: Ward willing to restructure to stay with Steelers

PFT: Plenty of anti-Peyton sentiment in Washington

PFT: Rams name Snead new GM

PFT: Big Ben fires warning shot at new OC Haley

PFT: Dancing man Gronkowski has ankle surgery

O'Donnell set up Tebow with Jenny McCarthy

PFT: Giants' Cruz will shop a book, Eli won't

PFT: Peyton will return at 'high level,' Polian says