The premiums through a private agency can run higher -- about $10,000 a year per $1 million of coverage for football players, according to Lerner. Athletes can take out loans to purchase coverage from private insurers without threatening their college eligibility as long as they are not given special treatment by the bank, Sheely said.
The cost of premiums -- and the fact that the insurance only pays out in cases of career-ending injuries -- has scared off some players, including Auburn offensive tackle Lee Ziemba.
"The premiums are extremely high," Ziemba said. "The thing I saw about it is it only covers you for an injury where you can't play the game anymore -- not where you tear your ACL and you're not the same player you were before. You can't be able to play, ever. So I put my trust in the Lord and whatever He sees fit. If something bad happens, He's going to take care of me."
The NCAA and private insurers include a waiting period of six months to a year for rehabilitation efforts before claimants are eligible for a payout. Sheely said the NCAA has had "a handful" of payouts over the years, while Lerner has had just two -- a hockey player and former Florida defensive lineman Ed Chester, who collected on a $1 million policy in 1998 after multiple surgeries couldn't repair a severe knee injury well enough for him to play again.
"If a player can make his living playing professional sports, he's going to make more than he can collect on this policy," Lerner said. "We set it up that way so they still have the incentive to play."
After hearing stories such as Chester's, many athletes consider insurance a no-brainer these days. Lerner estimated that practically every player taken in the first five rounds of the NFL draft and both rounds of the NBA draft this year was insured.