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Would the public be clamoring as loudly for Michael Vick's head if he'd come clean after being caught with a suitcase full of illegal steroids? Or cocaine? Or beating up a woman?

Just asking.

Because in all those cases, depending on aggravating circumstances and a number of other factors, the fine and jail time Vick would face after pleading guilty — in his case, to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge — could be roughly the same. In terms of what else Vick stands to lose, it isn't even close.

The Falcons are considering whether to go after $22 million of Vick's signing bonus, and as much as $71 million total, from the 10-year, $130 million contract he signed in 2004. A marketing firm recently estimated Vick will sacrifice as much as $50 million in endorsements over the next decade, which doesn't seem inflated considering how quickly Nike terminated his shoe deal, Reebok quit selling his No. 7 jersey and Upper Deck and Donruss pulled his likeness from trading-card sets. And even after serving his time, he may be barred from ever playing in the NFL again.

Vick will formally enter his plea before U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson on Aug. 27, but commissioner Roger Goodell already moved Friday to suspend him indefinitely without pay. In a statement, Goodell made clear that Vick's involvement in illegal gambling could trigger a lifetime ban under the league's personal conduct policy.

At this point, it's worth noting that players who have committed crimes every bit as heinous have long since returned to the NFL. Jamal Lewis plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges in 2004 for trying to set up a drug deal. He spent the 2005 offseason serving time, was suspended by Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue for Baltimore's first two games the following season and begins this one on the Cleveland Browns' roster.

Ray Lewis, Jamal's former teammate but no relation, plead guilty to obstruction of justice in a murder investigation. St. Louis' Leonard Little is still rushing passers despite pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter after killing a woman while driving drunk in 1998, then getting stopped for drunk driving again three years ago. And despite a number of arrests and even convictions, not even one NFL player charged with domestic violence has been suspended.

Last week, I wrote that Goodell should give Vick another chance to play, provided he accepts full responsibility for his actions and serves his time. That sentiment hasn't changed. It's hard to imagine Goodell being confronted with a decision until the 2009 season, at the earliest, which should give Vick time enough to demonstrate he's worthy of another opportunity. The way things stand, he might need every day.

So keep in mind that we're still much closer to the beginning of this saga than the end. Vick's appearance in federal court will trigger another round of headlines, but more than news developments have been driving this story since the indictments surfaced in April. It touches celebrity, race, cruelty to animals, the aforementioned gambling and a few other topics.

Help came, anyway, from a well-organized, well-funded animal rights lobby that mobilized protests, demanding zero tolerance for Vick from the NFL and threatening to boycott any company that continues to sponsor him.

But let's be clear: Vick deserves everything that happens to him from here on out. In his plea agreement, Vick admits he helped kill dogs. No matter how carefully his attorneys frame his involvement — "collective efforts" with his co-defendants is the phrase they used — it's brutality, plain and simple, erasing any distinctions of race and culture that some of Vick's defenders have tried to throw up.

It's only coincidence, of course, that a few hours after Vick walks out of Hudson's courtroom, the Falcons are scheduled to play their first exhibition home game at the same Georgia Dome the star quarterback helped sell out for years.