Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, right, plans to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, putting his career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a possible prison term. AP file photo | July 2007

Judge Henry Hudson confirmed that the Newport News, Va., native would enter a guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Richmond next Monday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.

Details of the plea agreement have not been released, but various media reports quoting unnamed sources put the potential prison sentence at one year. A separate report from Vick's attorneys said he would plead guilty to felony conspiracy.

However, the judge is not bound by any agreement between the two parties.

Given the intense media interest in the case, the judge called reporters into his courtroom at 3 p.m. to announce that Vick had accepted a plea deal and that he was not scheduled to show up until Monday. The judge did not take questions.

Vick's lead attorney William "Billy" Martin issued a statement today.

"After consulting with his family over the weekend, Michael Vick asked that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter," the statement said.

Reached by phone late today, Larry Woodward, Vick's Virginia Beach attorney, said he couldn't talk about the specifics of the deal.

"I think that Michael Vick is a very good person. He made a mistake," Woodward said.

"He's willing to work hard to make sure that he makes it right," Woodward said. "He comes from a good family. I'm confident that he's the type of person who can come back from this. He has accepted full responsibility. I think that Mike is the type of person who won't let this define him. How he handles it down the road is how he'll define him."

Outside the federal courthouse, animal-rights activists cheered the news and said they would welcome a repentant Vick.

"Michael Vick is the poster boy for busted dog fighters," said Mike Brazell, a campaign coordinator for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "We hope Michael Vick will come out as a spokesman against dog-fighting."

The announcement climaxed weeks of speculation over how Vick would respond to charges that federal prosecutors filed last month. The pressure intensified when Vick's co-defendants agreed to plead guilty and could have testified against him at trial.

Authorities say Vick along with Quanis Phillips, Purnell Peace and Tony Taylor began the pit bull venture in 2001. That year, Vick vaulted to big-time stardom when he became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Last Friday, Peace, 35, and Phillips, 28, pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges and said Vick had actively participated in killing about eight dogs.

They used various methods of execution, including hanging and drowning, the court papers read.

They also said they posed in 2003 for a picture with Vick and a pit bull dog named Jane, who won at least three fights, according to court documents filed with the plea agreements.

Taylor, 34, had already pleaded guilty on July 30.

Statements of fact filed along with Peace and Phillips' plea agreements backed up details provided in Taylor's agreement, including the charge that Vick funded the dogfighting operation but didn't share in the winnings.

Between 2002 and 2007, at least 14 dogfights took place at the Surry property and in other states, court documents read.

Surry County Commonwealth's attorney Gerald G. Poindexter is still conducting his own investigation.

"I didn't see many options for him," Poindexter said when he heard Vick planned to plead guilty to the dogfighting conspiracy charge.

He said local charges are likely, but he didn't say against whom.

"Crimes have been committed, and the people of Surry County and the commonwealth if Virginia have a right to be vindicated," Poindexter said. "I don't see any overlapping between what has been pled to in the federal system and what happened here in the county."

He said he's not sure what charges he would pursue. All the physical evidence is in the hands of the federal prosecutors, he said.