As colleges and universities prepare to legally pay athletes for the first ti
me in National Collegiate Athletic Association history, collegiate sports program
s are exploring insurance policies designed to mitigate the risks that come with
dishing out tens of millions of dollars annually to players.
A proposed settlement deal between the NCAA and five major collegia
te sports conference
s is expected to soon allow schools to directly compensate stu
dents for the first time in 173 years of organized competition.
Total pay will be capped at about $20 million per school.
“The reason why insurance is now being introduced more consistently is that there are now real dollars at risk,” said Tyrre B
urks, founder and CE
O of Players Health, a sports-centric managing general agency. “And we’re not talking a small amount of dollars, either. W
Watch More Image Part 2 >>>
e’re
talking billions of dollars that are now going to athletes. Universities, for the first ti
me, are now sharing athletic department revenues
back to the athletes.”
Burks said Players Health gives clients greater visibility of their risks while su
pplying them with tools and resources to mitigate them. One of those resources is i
nsurance; the Minneapolis
-based company writes
general liability, equipment and property, D&O and more lines of coverage for youth, amateur and collegiate sports organizations.