Michael Vick, the quarterback who was jailed for running a dog-fighting ring, has been reinstated by the National Football League (NFL).

The 29-year-old was released from prison in May after serving a 23-month sentence, only to have his contract cancelled by the Atlanta Falcons.

Vick is available to sign for a new team but will not be allowed to play until the sixth week of the season.

He has been offered counselling and mentoring services by the NFL.

Vick had been suspended by the NFL for violating the terms of his contract.

"In deciding whether to reinstate a player, I have stressed my belief that playing in the NFL is a privilege," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a letter to Vick.

"It is not an entitlement. Everyone fortunate enough to be part of the league is held to a standard of conduct higher than that generally expected in society and is correspondingly accountable when that standard of conduct is not met."

Once the highest-paid player in the NFL, Vick was the number one pick in the 2001 draft and a three-time All-Pro quarterback with Atlanta.

He was jailed in December 2007 after pleading guilty with three others to running an interstate dog-fighting operation known as Bad Newz Kennels.

In his guilty plea, the quarterback admitted knowing that dogs that did not fight well were killed and that he had been involved in the killing of at least eight dogs.

Since his release from jail, Vick has been undertaking voluntary work with the Animal Humane Society. </p

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