Decision could secure McGahee's financial future

When Keith Lerner saw University of Miami running back Willis McGahee go down in the fourth quarter of the National Championship game, he bolted from his couch, went into his home office and immediately began rifling through the papers.

Only five hours before, Lerner, an insurance agent based in Gainesville, Fla., had completed the paperwork on a $2.5 million insurance policy for the sophomore stud who was projected to be a top NFL draft pick in April.

"I faxed his physical information to Lloyd's of London at 3 o'clock on Friday," Lerner said. "The ink wasn't even dry on the paper yet."

McGahee might have had only one game left in his collegiate career, but he approached Lerner -- who had written policies for former Miami players Santana Moss, Ed Reed and Bryant McKinnie -- and wanted a large policy. Thanks to that decision, if McGahee, who had surgery on his torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments Sunday, never returns to the gridiron, he will collect a tax-free $2.5 million one year from the date of the injury -- Jan. 3, 2004.

"I originally said I could get him a $1.5 million policy, but he wanted more," said Lerner, president of the financial consulting firm Total Planning. "Then, I got $2 million and he still wanted more. So eventually we got to $2.5 million, which is a very large policy and possibly the largest policy a sophomore has ever had."

Lerner declined to give the exact premium, but he did say McGahee's family took out a loan and paid less than $20,000 for it. Premiums usually cost about $10,000 per $1 million policy, but McGahee was able to get a better rate partly because it only covered him for the National Championship game and up until he signed an NFL contract.

McGahee was also able to get a larger policy because his projected draft status rose throughout the season. Lerner said that if McGahee took out a policy in October, he only would have received about $500,000 in total coverage. McGahee finished the season with a school-record 1,686 yards and 27 touchdowns this season

"He was a little surprised to see me," Lerner said. "But he had a smile on his face. He wouldn't have taken this out if he was 100 percent sure he wasn't going to get hurt. I think it's very unfortunate that he was minutes away from a big payday in the NFL and now that situation is changed. But he did make a smart intelligent decision."

Lerner most recently paid out a $1 million tax-free policy to former University of Florida defensive tackle Ed Chester, who collected in the fall of 1999.

About 70 football players are part of the NCAA Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance Program, according to Juanita Sheely, travel and insurance coordinator for the NCAA. The NCAA provides athletes, who are projected to be picked in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, with a loan to take out a premium. Sheely declined to say if McGahee had insurance through the NCAA's program, administered by ASU International.

Penni Key, associate athletic director of clients at the University of Miami, said that athletes are encouraged to look at the NCAA's program as opposed to outside underwriters because the school wants to make sure that an agent isn't paying a premium for the athlete, which would be an NCAA violation.

God, I'm glad he did this! I've been haunted by that play/re-play ever since it happened -- it certainly ruined the game for me, and such injuries (remember Joe Theismann's leg?)are the reason I stopped watching and following football as a sport.

Having said that, why does it fall upon the prescience of the player to be insured -- why can't the NCAA provide such insurance as a matter of course?

Now I understand that there would be some tricky aspects to administering such a policy, but as a matter of fundamental fairness, why should college players be expected to play for nothing -- while earning millions for their universities -- and ALSO bear the risk (due to catastophic injury) to their deferred financial "future" earning capacity -- when the universities could afford to insure against such loss, and such insurance (as this story proves) is available?

If the players cannot be compensated, at LEAST they should be protected from being PENALIZED financially from some of the risks attendant to their making the financial sacrifice they are asked to make.

Part of the problem is that the vast majority of college players will never sign an NFL contract, and most injuries that would end a football career still won't intefere with someone's ability to live a normal life and earn a living. So there's no loss to compensate.

That said, I think players should have some kind of stipend, if for no other reason than to reduce the potential influence of gamblers, unscrupulous agents, and other low lifes. There's a seamy side to college athletics, as evidence by recent events at Alabama and Florida State, to name just two examples.

As I said, there would be tricky adminstrative aspects to it. Having said that, actuaries are paid to manage such problems equitably -- and the insurance (as I imagine it) would apply to lost potential professional career only, so the fact that MOST players would not be eligible means that the insurance is even more affordable to the NCAA.

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