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Sources tell Tomahawk Nation that Florida State plans to invest in its star quarterback's future.
College football players taking out disability insurance is not new. But players purchasing loss of value insurance, which pays the player if his draft stock falls due to injury or illness, is a lesser known concept.
Earlier this summer, Yahoo! Sports reported that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston had procured such a policy in the amount of $8-10M, based on the projection that he will be a top 10 draft pick in the 2015 NFL draft, in addition to the standard disability policy.
"To me, that's the greatest thing that's going on in college sports today because it keeps kids in school," Jimbo Fisher said recently at ACC media days. "They all want to leave for the money. If I know the money is guaranteed, I can stay and get a college degree."
The premium on such a policy is estimated by Yahoo! to be $55-60K, and most players can obtain it by financing. Still, that isn't cheap, and it was one reason why I, along with many others, doubted Winston would actually stay for the 2015 college season, as his dad had indicated was the plan.
Unlike with disability insurance, the NCAA does not have a loan program available for loss of value policies, so financing must be obtained privately.
Even with financing, it can be a very expensive proposition.
Then, it was revealed by Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports that Texas A&M had found a way to pay the insurance premiums of its star players, one of which elected to pass on the draft and return to school.
Texas A&M, though, had researched a newer NCAA rule that offered them some flexibility, where the school itself could actually pay the difference out of the Student Assistance Fund, which each school has at its disposal to cover things such as the cost of post-eligibility financial aid, or if a student-athlete can't afford to travel home in cases of emergency, or if they need a suit to wear to university functions or events like SEC Media Days.
It's not an unlimited pool, and the NCAA creates its yearly limit for all schools so each has to budget where its money goes for that year. According to the SEC office, last year each of its members allotted $350,000 for the fund.
Moore, the associate AD for football, told FOX Sports that the school didn't know it could tap into that fund until this year to help with the loss-of-value insurance policy for a case like Ogbuehi's. "I don't think many schools know about it," Moore said Tuesday. "It's a game-changer."
Following the Feldman article, I put feelers out to sources at Florida State, and they have confirmed that Florida State's athletic department does plan to pay Winston's premium, which is expected to be in the $55-60K range estimated by Yahoo! Sports.
If that does come out of Florida State's Student Assistance Fund, it would be a large chunk of the pool, but Winston is by far Florida State's most valuable athlete.
Florida State's camp opens August 4, and the Seminoles, with the Heisman Trophy winner at the helm, are favored to repeat as National Champions.