Colorado football coach Deion Sanders generated news headlines last month when he announced that the university had obtained record insurance coverage for Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports now shed additional light on the insurance policies purchased by Colorado before the Buffaloes lost to BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28, 36-14. The university redacted the names of the players on the documents, but USA TODAY Sports identified them as Hunter and Shedeur Sanders based on several factors.
The records show the school bought $1 million in extra permanent total disability (PTD) insurance for the bowl game, in addition to their previous $20 million in PTD coverage for the year that began in August 2024.
“Adding $1MM of temporary coverage effective December 18, 2024, through to December 29,2024 to cover Valero Alamo Bowl,” said an email to Colorado officials from Matthew Vuckovich of the firm Paradigm Gilbert. “Current coverage now at $21,000,000 for both players.”
After the bowl game, the coverage amount would go back down to $20 million, according to another email. Fortunately, neither Hunter nor Shedeur Sanders suffered a severe injury in the game.
Was that a good deal for Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders?
Extra insurance brings extra peace of mind. But in this case, insurance industry experts found it strange to add $1 million in permanent disability coverage for one game when they had $20 million in place already. The extra $1 million cost the school $1,030 each in premiums.
Richard Giller, a renowned sports insurance recovery attorney in Los Angeles, reviewed the documents at the request of USA TODAY Sports.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense,” said Giller of the firm Greenspoon Marder. “I don’t see the reason other than maybe just wanting to say they had $21 million, which is $1 million more than most of the other policies around?”
Was that really the highest-ever amount?
It’s not clear what Deion Sanders was referring to exactly on Dec. 23, when he said the players had obtained the “highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football.”
Colorado athletic director Rick George was sitting next to his coach when he made that statement and said, “That’s correct.” He said the added coverage was Sanders’ idea.
Former Kansas basketball player Eric Chenowith, founder of the Leverage Disability and Life Insurance Services, said he’s not privy to what Colorado was basing its statements on regarding the “highest” amounts of coverage. But he said he’s placed two policies with an aggregate of $26 million on two different college football players in 2023.
Colorado declined to elaborate, citing privacy laws.
“We stand by what Coach Prime and Rick said at their press conference at the Alamo Bowl, which was based on information we had at that time,” Colorado athletics spokesman Steve Hurlbert said.
Messages sent to Vuckovich were not returned.
What did Colorado pay for this coverage?
The documents say it cost $1,030 each in premiums for the extra $1 million. Documents indicate the premiums for the other $20 million in year-long coverage cost about $166,000 for each through different companies.
The documents also show up to $250,000 in critical injury riders for the year if the players tore their Achllles tendon, among other serious injuries.
Was it worth the injury risk to play in the bowl game?
It depends on the viewpoint. Both Hunter and Shedeur Sanders indicated that playing in their final college games meant more to them than a financial risk calculation.
Other top college players opted not to play in bowl games because they didn’t want to risk their financial futures by getting injured in them. Giller told USA TODAY Sports before the bowl game that “there is absolutely NO reason that Hunter should ever play in what amounts to a meaningless bowl game, and risk his financial future to do so.”
If they had suffered a career-ending injury in their final college games, they would have tried to collect on that insurance. But that amount still could be far less than what they would earn in the NFL from future contracts and endorsement deals that come with their NFL fame. Both Hunter and Sanders are projected as top picks in the NFL draft in April.
Last year, the top pick in the draft, quarterback Caleb Williams, signed a four-year deal worth nearly $40 million.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com