Colt McCoy insures his future earning potential

July 29, 11:14 AMCollege Sports ExaminerJacob Osterhout

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the College Sports Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

It's okay, he's insured.

Financial protection, that sounds pretty good during these tough economic times.

Trust me, I know. My dog was recently diagnosed with cancer and, with no pet insurance, I suddenly had to shell out six grand to remove a 12 cm section of her intestines.

University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy has made sure that he won't experience the same financial fall out if he loses a chunk of his intestines and can no longer play football.

According to Joe Schad at ESPN.com,

Add Texas quarterback Colt McCoy to the list of returning seniors who have taken out a large insurance policy in case of injury.

Brad McCoy, Colt's father, said Sunday that Colt has a policy that would pay between $3 million and $5 million in the event of a career-ending injury.

Regardless of how you think McCoy will fare in the NFL, here's a player that holds a plethora of UT school records, which includes most career passing yards and most career touchdown passes. He was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year last season, and came in second in the Heisman vote.

But, most importantly, at least when it comes to the need for an insurance policy, McCoy is a quarterback that is very active in the pocket and rushed for 11 touchdowns last season. Any quarterback that scrambles that much is bound to get hit, especially when playing in-state rival Texas A&M, as seen by the two video clips below.

Hefty insurance policies are not uncommon for college football players with NFL dreams. Most notably, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford also has a health insurance policy in case of a career-ending injury. But in Bradford's case, it was a family decision. His father is his insurance agent.

This college football insurance policy trend picked up steam back in 2003. According to an article on InsuranceNewsNet.com,

Insurance experts say interest in policies for star college athletes spiked after Jan. 3, 2003, the night Miami running back Willis McGahee suffered a major knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.

Two weeks before that bowl championship series title game, Lerner began securing $2.5 million of coverage for McGahee through Lloyd's of London, which underwrites the vast majority of policies secured by college athletes.

McGahee's policy went into effect just before the Fiesta Bowl, and his family breathed a sigh of relief later that night at the hospital. But the 2002 Heisman finalist never collected. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, he was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd pick in the 2003 draft and signed a four-year contract that reportedly could be worth more than $15 million if he reaches all incentives.

Nevertheless, McGahee's injury pushed interest in insurance "over the edge," Lerner said.

Here's a reminder of what happened to McGahee's knee (Warning: knees are not supposed to do this...)

It just seems like a smart financial move for a future NFL football player to insure his body against injuries, but you have to wonder, especially with players from poorer families, who is paying for these policies? Do the college players from wealthier background have more security than their less well-to-do teammates?

And what if Colt McCoy drops in the draft and never makes it in the NFL? Then the astronomical premium his family paid for his policy is all for naught. But I guess that's a risk McCoy's willing to take. Confidence in one's own abilities, after all, is a characteristic common to most quarterbacks.