Report: Tua Tagovailoa had no injury insurance for NFL Draft

[jetstream23]

Quote

When Tua Tagovailoa went down with a season-ending hip injury, the NFL Draft questions immediately started popping up of where he’d be selected should he enter.

A team will almost certainly take a chance on the Crimson Tide quarterback at some spot in the draft should he choose to enter, but Tagovailoa will pay a price if he falls.

According to Darren Rovell of the Action Network, the insurance provided to him by the University of Alabama did not include a loss-of-value policy.

This means that he would not be able to recoup millions of dollars should he fall from the possible No. 1 overall selection to the mid-to-late first round.

Sources tell Rovell that Tagovailoa only chose to take the coverage that the university gave him. His coverage entitles him to collect if doctors rule he can never play again, as the school purchased permanent total disability insurance for the quarterback. Rovell notes that Tagovailoa taking the school’s policy did not prohibit him to taking loss-of-value insurance out of his own pocket.

“Players who are projected to go in the top-five or 10 picks should absolutely have loss-of-value insurance,” said insurance broker Keith Lerner of Total Planning in Gainesville, Fla., who has sold policies to players and schools over the past two decades and used to work with Alabama. “That’s whether the school is paying or not.”

Tagovailoa underwent successful surgery on his right hip Monday in Houston, Alabama team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain announced in a statement.

“Tua underwent successful surgery on his right hip Monday morning in Houston,” Cain said. “The procedure went as planned, and he is resting comfortably. Tua’s prognosis is excellent, and we expect him to make a full recovery. He will return to Tuscaloosa in the next several days to begin his rehab.”

Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip -- and a bloody nose -- during the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., and was taken to Birmingham to undergo further tests for what coach Nick Saban called “a freak thing that you seldom see.”

With the injury and surgery, the Crimson Tide junior will miss the rest of the season.

Tagovailoa was a game-time decision entering the game at Davis Wade Stadium after he dealt with soreness in his right ankle following last week’s LSU game. The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native, played all 60 minutes against the Tigers only 20 days removed from a tightrope surgery to repair a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Tennessee game back on Oct. 19.

He was limited in practice this past week, doing more as the week progressed, and then looked good enough during pregame warmups on Saturday to lead Saban to play him. 

5COMMENTS

“He was at least as good as he was a week ago in terms of his ability to move, and I didn’t think that anything that he did affected his performance in this game in the first half,” Saban said. “So, the guy played, and I thought he played really well. We hate it that he got injured. We hate it for him. We hate it for his family. I hate it if any player on our team gets injured. So, Godspeed to him and his entire family, and our thoughts and prayers are with him.

 

[jetstream23]

I think there's a decent chance Tua goes back and plays for Alabama next season.  If teams are nervous about his injury and he'd drop outside the Top 10, it might not be a bad idea to play again and get his value up.  Not having insurance against a slip down the Draft Board makes this even more likely.

Timing is becoming critical here for him I think.  The Combine is typically in February giving him approximately 3 months to heal, recover, rehab and train.  I don't know the recovery time for something like this but that could be cutting it close.

[Lith]

13 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

I think there's a decent chance Tua goes back and plays for Alabama next season.  If teams are nervous about his injury and he'd drop outside the Top 10, it might not be a bad idea to play again and get his value up.  Not having insurance against a slip down the Draft Board makes this even more likely.

Timing is becoming critical here for him I think.  The Combine is typically in February giving him approximately 3 months to heal, recover, rehab and train.  I don't know the recovery time for something like this but that could be cutting it close.

Thnask for positng.  Was wondering if he had insurance.

I get where you are coming from, but the injury history, and lack of draft insurance, it might make more sense for him to take his shot at the draft now and whatever guaranteed money would come his way.  Even a late first rounder is guaranteed over $5MM.  Not bad for a 22-year old kid (or a 50+ year old middle aged dude for that matter).

He has had a number of injureis at Bama, most minor until this one.  If he goes back and gets hurt again, he might really tumble down draft boards.  If he has a first round gradeor even a high second, I would tell him to go, get the guaranteed money you can now and not to risk further injury.

[14 in Green]

52 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

I think there's a decent chance Tua goes back and plays for Alabama next season.  If teams are nervous about his injury and he'd drop outside the Top 10, it might not be a bad idea to play again and get his value up.  Not having insurance against a slip down the Draft Board makes this even more likely.

Timing is becoming critical here for him I think.  The Combine is typically in February giving him approximately 3 months to heal, recover, rehab and train.  I don't know the recovery time for something like this but that could be cutting it close.

I had a dislocated hip years ago. He’ll be fortunate if he’s walking without a limp in 3 months. His leg will be very weak, so weak that his foot will be flared outward to help with balance.

Forget about taking any kind of hit. If it’s his plant leg, he’s in for a long rehab. I’m  going to be surprised if he makes it back at all.

No way he’s ready for the combine in February.

[New York Mick]

He needs to go back to Bama for a year. Unfortunately injuries is a risk players take. At worst he got a free education from a top school. 

[Philc1]

31 minutes ago, New York Mick said:

He needs to go back to Bama for a year. Unfortunately injuries is a risk players take. At worst he got a free education from a top school. 

[Philc1]

35 minutes ago, 14 in Green said:

I had a dislocated hip years ago. He’ll be fortunate if he’s walking without a limp in 3 months. His leg will be very weak, so weak that his foot will be flared outward to help with balance.

Forget about taking any kind of hit. If it’s his plant leg, he’s in for a long rehab. I’m  going to be surprised if he makes it back at all.

No way he’s ready for the combine in February.

He doesn’t need to do anything he’s a guaranteed first round pick Miami has 3 first round picks and they have made it clear since before day 1 he’s their guy so they will draft him even without a combine and possibly even without him even playing next year

 

Tua would be nuts to try to play in college another year.  If he gets reinjured or plays badly it’s over for him

 

 

 

 

[Paradis]

2 hours ago, Lith said:

Thnask for positng.  Was wondering if he had insurance.

I get where you are coming from, but the injury history, and lack of draft insurance, it might make more sense for him to take his shot at the draft now and whatever guaranteed money would come his way.  Even a late first rounder is guaranteed over $5MM.  Not bad for a 22-year old kid (or a 50+ year old middle aged dude for that matter).

110% agree. God help him if he comes back and gets reinjured, he;ll never see a dime. No insurance company will offer him a reasonable policy at this point. 

The upside is enough that some team will take a Jaylon Smith gamble on him - and anyone in his corner should be urging him to declare

[BklynJetsFan85]

4 hours ago, Lith said:

Thnask for positng.  Was wondering if he had insurance.

I get where you are coming from, but the injury history, and lack of draft insurance, it might make more sense for him to take his shot at the draft now and whatever guaranteed money would come his way.  Even a late first rounder is guaranteed over $5MM.  Not bad for a 22-year old kid (or a 50+ year old middle aged dude for that matter).

 He has had a number of injureis at Bama, most minor until this one.  If he goes back and gets hurt again, he might really tumble down draft boards.  If he has a first round gradeor even a high second, I would tell him to go, get the guaranteed money you can now and not to risk further injury.

He did have insurance. They already put out that because of that, there's no reason for him to go back to Bama. 

[Untouchable]

There isn't a chance in hell that he doesn’t declare.

Despite the hip injury, he still has a good chance to be the 2nd QB off the board.

Even if he goes back to Alabama, stays injury free and has a good year, he still wouldn’t go ahead of Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in 2020.

Personally, I wasn’t a big fan of the guy even before the hip thing. He gets banged up routinely and is 6’0 standing on his tippy toes.

But NFL teams are stupid. And someone will dupe themselves into thinking that they’re getting the next DeShaun Watson.

I hope it’s Miami.

[RobR]

I can't believe that Bama wouldn't have helped him out getting a policy that would have covered this. This guy was considered a top 5 pick for two years and he doesn't have a policy regarding injury and sliding in the draft? 

This reeks of typical Saban breaking down his players just after they hit puberty. He should have never played Tua  in the LSU game let alone this one after his recent surgery.

It's damn near impossible to root for a Saban team considering how many ****s he gives towards his own players. He treats these kids like cattle.

[Paradis]

5 hours ago, RobR said:

I can't believe that Bama wouldn't have helped him out getting a policy that would have covered this. This guy was considered a top 5 pick for two years and he doesn't have a policy regarding injury and sliding in the draft? 

Can't say I know a lot about what goes into getting those policies, but given that players like Clowney and Fournette had them - it does raise an eyebrow that a QB who's been considered a day 1 guy since he took the field doesn't have one. 

[sec101row23]

I’m no expert on these policies but I do know that it is extremely rare that players get paid out on these LOV type of insurance policies.  I also believe that Tua’s previous injury history precluded him from getting one of these policies.  The threshold to actually get paid out on these policies is extremely high.   

[sec101row23]

16 hours ago, Lith said:

Thnask for positng.  Was wondering if he had insurance.

I get where you are coming from, but the injury history, and lack of draft insurance, it might make more sense for him to take his shot at the draft now and whatever guaranteed money would come his way.  Even a late first rounder is guaranteed over $5MM.  Not bad for a 22-year old kid (or a 50+ year old middle aged dude for that matter).

He has had a number of injureis at Bama, most minor until this one.  If he goes back and gets hurt again, he might really tumble down draft boards.  If he has a first round gradeor even a high second, I would tell him to go, get the guaranteed money you can now and not to risk further injury.

Agreed.   Even if he gets taken in the second or third round it’s better than coming back to Bama.  Who knows if he will even be ready to play football come July, might as well be on an NFL payroll while rehabbing.  Plus he would be one year closer to free agency.  There is still A LOT to play out before the draft.  Let’s see what he looks like in February.  

[joewilly12]

He should have hired the AllState guy. 

[chirorob]

16 hours ago, Philc1 said:

He doesn’t need to do anything he’s a guaranteed first round pick Miami has 3 first round picks and they have made it clear since before day 1 he’s their guy so they will draft him even without a combine and possibly even without him even playing next year

 

Tua would be nuts to try to play in college another year.  If he gets reinjured or plays badly it’s over for him

 

Half the time, it's best for a QB to not play their 1st season any way, just sit and learn, a la Aaron Rodgers or Pat Mahomes.

He can learn the offense, learn how to prepare in the NFL, get stronger, while they draft O Linemen to help protect him.

[Lith]

13 hours ago, BklynJetsFan85 said:

He did have insurance. They already put out that because of that, there's no reason for him to go back to Bama. 

The insurance he has, which was provided by the University, is only for total disability.  He would need a diagnosis that the injury precludes him from ever playing again to collect, which seems very unlikely.  Per the article posted above, he does not have insurance for loss of value should he fall in the draft as a result of injury.

[Lith]

12 hours ago, RobR said:

I can't believe that Bama wouldn't have helped him out getting a policy that would have covered this. This guy was considered a top 5 pick for two years and he doesn't have a policy regarding injury and sliding in the draft? 

 

Much as I love sh*tting on Saban, I am not sure he is to blame for this one.  Pretty sure this one is on the NCAA which does not allow players to "defer" premiums so that they can be paid out of the first NFL contract.  I don't know if other schools provide more expansive coverage than Alabama (or even if they are allowed to under NCAA rules), but seems to me if a kid could buy a deferred premium policy where premium is not due until player signs his first NFL contract, it would be a lot easier for these kids to buy policies.

[Jimmy 2 Times]

I hope he was actually taking real classes and learning something.

 

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if he's forced out of Bama if the injury costs him next season too.

They're always in a numbers crunch with players. 

[sec101row23]

1 hour ago, Lith said:

Much as I love sh*tting on Saban, I am not sure he is to blame for this one.  Pretty sure this one is on the NCAA which does not allow players to "defer" premiums so that they can be paid out of the first NFL contract.  I don't know if other schools provide more expansive coverage than Alabama (or even if they are allowed to under NCAA rules), but seems to me if a kid could buy a deferred premium policy where premium is not due until player signs his first NFL contract, it would be a lot easier for these kids to buy policies.

I actually think that players can seek a waiver from the NCAA to borrow the money against their future earnings to pay for their LOV coverage.  I think most schools do not fund the LOV for its players.  

[Lith]

4 minutes ago, sec101row23 said:

I actually think that players can seek a waiver from the NCAA to borrow the money against their future earnings to pay for their LOV coverage.  I think most schools do not fund the LOV for its players.  

You are right.  Was reading an article earlier today and I misread it.  It does say that NCAA allows an exception to borrow against future earnings.

[Larz]

That has to be tough to prove and he’s better off career wise going 16 instead of 3   

[BklynJetsFan85]

2 hours ago, Lith said:

The insurance he has, which was provided by the University, is only for total disability.  He would need a diagnosis that the injury precludes him from ever playing again to collect, which seems very unlikely.  Per the article posted above, he does not have insurance for loss of value should he fall in the draft as a result of injury.

Espn had put out that he did have an insurance policy for loss of value. I dunno then. Was watching it last week on one of the sportscenter shows.