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As first reported by ESPN.com, Michael Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with the dog-fighting probe of his property in Virginia. The grand jury indictment charges that Vick and three co-defendants spent six years "knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting in an animal fighting venture."

The grand jury also charged the men with establishing a kennel -- "Bad Newz Kennels" -- to represent dog-fighting competitions, purchase and train pit bulls in dog-fighting competitions and "destroying or otherwise disposing of dogs not selected to stay with the ongoing animal fighting venture."

A copy of the full indictment, in which Vick is also identified by the nickname "Ookie," is available HERE.

Profootballtalk.com editor Mike Florio, a practicing attorney, points out there is only one count, for now: Conspiracy.

Florio went on to explain that in order to be guilty of conspiracy, the government doesn't have to prove that the defendants committed the underlying illegal acts, but only that they intended to do so, and that they accomplished one or more overt acts in order to reach their goals.

According to ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, the next steps in the legal process will include Vick turning himself in for booking (highlighted by fingerprinting and a mug shot) and a hearing to request and set bail. Subsequent hearing dates will likely be set at that time and the entire process will continue on well into the regular season -- if not beyond.

The NFL released the following statement in response to the indictment:

"We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him. We will continue to closely monitor developments in this case, and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities."

"The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick’s guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts. The matter will be reviewed under the League’s Personal Conduct Policy."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons will issue a statement later tonight as owner Arthur Blank and president and general manager Rich McKay were traveling via airplane.

And as interesting as that statement will be, I'll go out on a limb and predict it will leave out the most important aspect of the story -- from an on-field standpoint: The decision to trade Matt Schaub to Houston was a major mistake -- one that's likely to become more glaring in coming days.

As SI.com insider Peter King recently suggested: "I think I'd bet you a lot of money that if you put Blank, McKay and Bobby Petrino on sodium pentothal, they'd tell you they wish they'd never pulled the trigger on the Schaub trade. ..."

Now, even if it turns out Vick plays all 16 games, Petrino has no choice but to get Joey Harrington ready to play this summer.

As King further suggested: "I can guarantee you the Falcons did not sign Harrington thinking they were going to need him as more than a spot replacement guy. ..."

But the indictment and what it represents are of more immediate and much greater concern.

In case you haven't been following along, 54 pit bulls were recovered from property owned by Vick during searches in April -- along with a "rape stand," used to hold dogs in place for mating; an electric treadmill modified for dogs; and a bloodied piece of carpeting court documents claimed.

Vick initially said he had no idea the property might have been used in a criminal enterprise and blamed family members for taking advantage of his generosity. He also put the house up for sale and reportedly sold it quickly, although there is no record that the sale has closed.

Vick has since declined to talk about the investigation.

According to authorities, the property was used as the "main staging area for housing and training the pit bulls involved in the dog fighting venture." Court documents said the fights usually occurred late at night or in the early morning and would last several hours. The winning dog would win from "hundreds up to thousands of dollars," and participants and spectators also would place bets on the fight.

Before fights, the participating dogs of the same sex would be weighed and bathed, according to the filings. Opposing dogs would be washed to remove any poison or narcotic placed on the dog's coat that could affect the other dog's performance. Sometimes participants would not feed a dog before the fight to "make it more hungry for the other dog," the documents said.

Fights would end when one dog died or with the surrender of the losing dog, which was sometimes put to death by drowning, strangulation, hanging, gun shot, electrocution or some other method, according to the documents.

Today's indictment states Vick was directly involved in putting eight dogs to death in the manners specified above.

During a June search of the property, investigators uncovered the graves of seven pit bulls that were killed by members of "Bad Newz Kennels" following sessions to test whether dogs would be good fighters, court documents said.

Members of "Bad Newz Kennels" also sponsored and exhibited fights in other parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey and other states, the filings said.

So what does all this mean? How much trouble is Vick in?

According to a news release from the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Virginia: "If convicted on the Travel Act portion of the conspiracy charge, each defendant faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and full restitution.

If convicted on the animal fighting venture portion of the conspiracy charge, each defendant faces one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking recovery of any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of these offenses."

And of course, under the league's new Personal Conduct Policy, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and/or the Falcons could take disciplinary action long before the criminal justice system passes judgment, much like the commissioner has done with Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones and the Bears did following Tank Johnson's most recent run-in with the law.

In case you missed it, Goodell met with Vick in late April, shortly after police first raided the signal caller's property. At that time, Vick told Goodell that he was not involved in dogfighting.

Given that, it's worth noting NFL Security began an investigation of its own in May. If the facts prove that Vick was not honest with Goodell, that could factor into any punishment levied.

For now, it remains to be seen what Goodell's approach to Vick will be.

Despite the gravity of the indictment and the possible ramifications it brings, ESPN insider Chris Mortensen, appearing live on SportsCenter a short time ago, reminded viewers that Vick is not a repeat offender of the Player-Conduct Policy -- something Mortensen claims is necessary to punish players before due legal process is complete.

Therefore, Mortensen contends, these transgressions -- horrible though they might be -- won't necessarily result in league discipline.

Still, this will be a huge story going forward and it will be very interesting to see how Blank, the Falcons and league officials will deal with the public-relations nightmare stemming from what's certain to be a ginormous, summer-long wave -- perhaps as big as any in recent memory -- of negative publicity most likely doled out on a daily basis.

That aspect was already a concern. Remember, the Falcons sent a letter to season ticket holders on June 8 asking for patience when it came to the Vick dog-fighting allegations. The letter read in part:

"Any time a player in our league – and especially a Falcons player – shows up in a negative light for any act, it is disappointing to us. While unsubstantiated to date, the current public situation concerning Michael Vick puts us in a particularly difficult spot because of the daily attention it is receiving in the media, and our inability to respond because we don't yet have all the facts with which to deal."

While they don't have all of them, the Falcons clearly have more to go on now. It's safe to say team officials will be doing some serious soul searching in coming days.

One thing is certain: This is only the beginning.

Those interested will want to keep a close eye on the News & Views section of this site for late-breaking news on this story (and others). Watch the Headline News section for more in-depth discussions on Vick and this story as developments warrant.