When Colorado coach Deion Sanders said last month that his son and Heisman winner would play in a bowl game, it came as a bit of a surprise. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter have little to be gained by playing in a second-tier bowl, and NFL prospects of their caliber often sit out postseason games when there is nothing at stake for their teams. (Sanders and Hunter are both projected to be top-five NFL Draft picks.)
Now, Sanders and Hunter playing in the Alamo Bowl against BYU on Saturday makes a little bit more sense.
Deion Sanders said at his pregame news conference that the university had taken out record insurance policies on both players ahead of the game. Though the nature of the policies are not entirely clear, they appear to give Sanders, Hunter, and other players some extra financial security in case they get hurt on Saturday.
He said Monday that stars like Sanders and Hunter playing in a game like the Alamo Bowl was something that “has not transpired in probably the last five to 10 years in college football.”
Then he and Colorado athletic director Rick George explained why it was happening in this case. George credited Deion Sanders with the idea of getting disability insurance for the game, and the coach clarified that the school, not the players, was paying for it, saying George “put his money where his mouth is.” (He also added that the players have had some form of insurance against injury all season, which is a common practice in college sports and sports generally.)
“We happen to have two players that are probably gonna be the first two picks of the NFL Draft,” Sanders said. “And they have received, I think, the highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football…It far exceeds anyone [who] has ever played this game of college football.”
Sanders is right that players of their caliber regularly skip non-Playoff bowl games. The top five picks in last year’s NFL Draft—Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Joe Alt—all skipped their school’s bowls.
A spokesperson for Colorado’s athletic department told Front Office Sports that several other Buffaloes added insurance ahead of Saturday’s game. Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have the most to lose, as the top pick in the NFL Draft—which could be either player—is in line to sign a four-year slotted deal in the $40 million range. (Next year’s NFL salary cap has not been announced yet, but the contract for the No. 1 pick in 2024’s Draft was four years, $39.4 million, with a $25 million signing bonus.)
“CU Athletics worked with multiple insurance providers to offer disability insurance for the entire team for Alamo Bowl,” a Colorado spokesperson said. “For those players who qualify for insurance, CU Athletics paid the premium to ensure that the entire roster can play in the game and not feel they have to opt out… We felt like this was an additional way we could support our student-athletes so they can finish this incredible season together as a complete team.”
One wrinkle is that even a grievous injury could leave either player’s draft status relatively unchanged, making any insurance potentially more valuable for more fringe draft products like Sanders’s older brother Shilo.
Colorado did not immediately answer other questions about the insurance policies, like their specific cost, benefits, and whether they were disability, critical injury, or loss of value insurance.
Before rules loosened on compensating players, schools were still permitted to take out “loss of value” policies for star athletes to protect against draft falls caused by injury. In recent years, schools and NIL collectives have taken on more responsibility for disability insurance, and players have generally opted for “critical injury” insurance that does not rely on draft projections.
