Did NFL Steer Vick?

Last year, Michael Vick showed how good he has become by having his best season ever and leading the Eagles to the playoffs. As he enters this season as the Eagles starter as opposed to backup last year, an article in GQ is starting to make people think of what could've been. Vick told GQ that his first choice in a return was not the Eagles and that he was thinking about the Bengals or the Bills saying he thought they were better options. Then Vick said that after a meeting with Roger Goodell and others in the NFL, he decided his best option was going to the Eagles. He said "And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation."

Now Vick has clarified his statements after getting whooped by the Steelers yesterday saying he wants to be with Philly now. As for the NFL, they have said they met with Vick to decide his reinstatement and on what terms. They also said the decision was entirely his own and they would never steer players to one team over another.

Is there a scandal here? Hearing this story, I'm not sure. At first it sounds like it but maybe the NFL talked to Michael about his reinstatement, the impending suspension coming up, and asked him to take that into consideration when he signed with a team. On the cynical side, the NFL overstepped their bounds and won't admit it which would be expected. If this in fact did happen, it's a huge scandal that a league would try and influence players to go to one place over another. It borders on league manipulation. I hope that the league didn't steer Vick and that they just discussed his terms of reinstatement and Vick made his decision based on that.