After nearly being sacked by his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Vick learned that he’ll only have to pay back $3.75 million of the $20 million signing bonus despite an indefinite suspension from the NFL.

US District Judge David Doty reversed an arbitrators Nov. ruling that would have required Vick to repay the entire signing bonus on his $134 million contract. Doty said Vick earned most of the bonus money paid out when he made the Falcons roster.

The ruling is another hit to an already struggling Falcons team. They will be charged $15 million against the salary cap for the 2009 season.

“While we are disappointed by Judge Doty’s decision, this ruling does not affect our salary cap management for the 2008 season,”Falcons president Rich McKay said.

The NFL shared the Falcons’ disappointment concerning Doty’s ruling.

“It makes no sense that an individual who willfully violates his contract is entitled to be paid tens of millions of dollars even though he is in jail and providing no services whatsoever to his employer,” said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello via statement.

While the league is upset over the ruling, the NFL Players Association stands behind the decision, citing the latest collective bargaining agreement as the reason why Vick is keeping the bulk of his signing bonus.

“Standing alone, Michael’s contract would have allowed the Falcons to reclaim his roster bonuses, but as Judge Doty ruled, our 2006 extension agreement prevented that by prohibiting forfeitures of bonuses ‘already earned’,” said NFLPA general counsel Richard Berthelsen.

The NFLPA added that they are “pleased” for Vick and said the case sets a “valuable precedent” for future cases.

Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring. After enrolling in a drug rehab program, he could be released after serving only half the time. The early release has some analyst predicting that Vick could be back on an NFL field as early as 2009.