Disability and loss-of-value insurance policies are known to have paid off for college football players in only a few cases.
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee, who attended USC, fell outside of his projected first-round status after injuring his leg. He is in the midst of a claim worth about $5 million under a loss-of-value policy, which is the difference between the signing bonus he received and the value of the first-round average for signing bonuses. If the claim is paid, it would be the first for an NCAA football player under a loss-of-value policy.
Former University of Florida defensive tackle Ed Chester is the only former student athlete known to have made a successful claim on a disability policy, collecting $1 million after a knee injury during his senior season ended his football career.
Several student athletes with NCAA Student Assistance Fund policies were injured this season. In addition to Braxton Miller’s preseason injury, Todd Gurley and Oregon’s Ifo Ekpre-Olomu both suffered season-ending ACL injuries. Gurley will enter the draft after finishing his junior season and Ekpre-Olomu was a senior, so both potentially could collect under their loss-of-value policies if they fall in the NFL draft as a result of their injuries.
Oregon redshirt senior center Hroniss Grasu also suffered an injury late in the season, but he returned to the field for the Ducks’ College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
