Miami's national championship game loss to Ohio State was especially heartbreaking for Hurricanes' running back Willis McGahee.
McGahee, who rushed for a school-record 1,686 yards and 27 touchdowns this season, tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee against the Buckeyes and had to undergo reconstructive knee surgery just days after Miami's double-overtime loss.
But at least McGahee had a back-up plan. The sophomore took out a $2.5 million insurance policy on himself two weeks before the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. If McGahee is unable to return to football, he will collect the insurance money, minus taxes, on Jan. 3, 2004 - one year after the injury occurred.
However, after being informed by physician James Andrews that he should be ready for action next season, McGahee announced Tuesday he will enter the 2003 NFL draft in April, meaning that he almost certainly will never collect on his policy. The instant that McGahee steps on a playing field, his insurance policy is void.
While McGahee made news with his insurance announcement, his story is not an isolated one.
Other players who have been independently insured are former Miami players Bryant McKinnie, Mike Rumph, Philip Buchanon and Ed Reed, who were all first-round draft picks in 2002.
And the trend is starting to catch on.
Texas junior receiver Roy Williams, who could be the top wideout taken in the 2004 draft, is in the process of taking out an insurance policy on himself for the upcoming season, said John Bianco, Texas assistant athletic director for media relations. Bianco added the maximum amount for which an athlete can be insured is in the $3 million range, and Williams is leaning toward insuring himself for that amount.
"Roy's still reviewing his options, but it's likely that he will be insured independently," Bianco said. "Everything should be finalized by the beginning of spring practice."
The Longhorns begin spring drills on Feb. 24.
Independent policy writers, such as Total Planning in Gainesville, Fla., are signing more athletes by the day. Total Planning President Keith Lerner, whose company handled McGahee's insurance policy, recently told a Florida newspaper that it is a wise decision for athletes to secure their futures in case of injury on the playing field. Because of McGahee's emergence this season, his insurance value is higher now than it was at the beginning of the season, when he was relatively unknown.
While many athletes choose to be insured independently, the NCAA also has an insurance program for athletes who seek financial security in case of injury. The Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program - underwritten by the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company - covers student athletes who are severely injured while participating in a covered collegiate athletic activity.
These activities include games and any practice or precompetition activity supervised, authorized and organized by the insured's participating school. Camps, clinics and other events not conducted by the insured athlete's school are not valid under the program.
Catastrophic injuries include: spinal cord injury, severe head eck trauma, partial or complete paralysis, injuries that severely diminish mental capacity or hinder the performance of daily functions and irrecoverable loss of speech, hearing (both ears), sight (both eyes), both arms or legs or one arm or leg.
Since severely damaged knees, shoulders and other common athletic injuries are not considered catastrophic under the NCAA's program, McGahee would have received no monetary benefits under its policy.
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