Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who pretty much knows everything you need to know about pro football, has some interesting news.

After talking to United Football League commissioner Michael Huyghue, King has discovered that Michael Vick is being coveted by the fledgling circuit as its first superstar signing.

I know, I know — Vick’s in prison. But he’ll be out of prison this time next year, just in time to rush to the practice fields of either Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York, Orlando or Hartford, the six franchises set to serve as UFL flagships.

Huyghue says the chances of Vick playing in the UFL are “98 percent.”

“Michael’s not going to be able to walk right back into the NFL,” Huyghue told King. “He’s going to need some kind of buffer before he signs in the NFL, and we’ll be able to provide that for him.”

In case you’re asking yourself, “What is the UFL?” well, it’s the latest organization determined to challenge the NFL. It has big money investors, including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and was created to provide high caliber pro football to cities that don’t have a team.

Last time I checked New York actually had two NFL teams and San Francisco had one, but let’s not quibble.

Games would be played on Friday nights and teams will be made up mostly of high draft picks who don’t pan out in the big league as well as other NFL castoffs.

Certainly it would serve as an option for Vick, who is currently playing Penal League ball. And it would give the UFL instant publicity and spark some fan interest, although I doubt members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society or the Society for Prevention of Cruelty To Animals would serve as its core base.

But before you start combing the Internet in search of Ron Mexico jerseys, consider a couple of things.

The original UFL website (UFL2008.com) hadn't been updated in months and has since been replaced by one (ufl-football.com) in which info is "coming soon."

Also, it has no television contract. It could get one, I’m sure, but only with a low level network that would provide a fraction of the income the NFL gets from its comprehensive TV deals.

And the biggest obstacle of all is trying to compete with the NFL.

It can’t be done.

UFL officials will say, “Hey, we’re not competing with the NFL — we’re playing on Fridays!”

It doesn’t matter. The NFL owns the pro game in the fall.

Frankly, I’ll be surprised if the UFL gets up and running. If it does, I doubt it’ll make it to a second season.

So you might see Vick in a UFL football uniform next year. The year after that?

Look north of the border.