Colorado, Deion Sanders Did Right By Travis Hunter And Shedeur Sanders With Alamo Bowl Insurance Coverage

Deion Sanders wanted to make sure his players were taken care of financially if they were somehow injured in the upcoming Alamo Bowl against BYU. So, along with the University of Colorado and athletic director Rick George, they secured an historic amount of insurance coverage for Sheduer Sanders and Travis Hunter. 

The fact is that if you want the players who are going to draw the most attention to a bowl game that is outside of the college football playoff, you better make sure they are taken care of if something bad were to happen on the field. 

But, this insurance coverage does not only pertain to the potential top picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. The school has worked with a number of different insurance companies to make sure every player on the roster is taken care of in some form. 

Obviously, stars like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are going to cost the most when it comes to a premium by the school, but making sure that every player was taken care of was a top priority for Deion Sanders, as AD Rick George pointed out. 

"It was his idea we should get disability insurance for our athletes for this game to ensure that they played and if there was some kind of injury that they would be well taken care of," Colorado AD Rick George of Sanders. "So, we worked together on that. We’re excited about it. We think it’s great that all our players are playing in the game. That’s what all bowl games should be like.

Deion Sanders made sure all his players were covered with insurance for Alamo Bowl, with historic deal for Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders Have Historic Insurance Policies For Game

There is always the risk that players with very high draft grades could get injured during the course of a season, which is why those athletes do have insurance that carries them throughout the season. Look at the most recent case with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who suffered a UCL injury in his throwing elbow during the SEC championship game. 

For a quarterback like Beck, there's no telling what could happen with his elbow moving forward, so having some type of insurance policy that could help him financially if he weren't to be drafted high, if he does declare, is a must. 

As for Colorado, they wanted to make sure that Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter were taken care of to the highest degree. If they were to get seriously hurt during the Alamo Bowl against BYU, the insurance companies would give them a very large payout

"We have a multitude of players that are draftable, that they received a draft grade. They had visibility (insurance) all season long, we want to make insure that if something were to happen, they would cover it," Deion Sanders said this week. "We happen to have two players that are probably going to be the first two picks of the NFL Draft. We all know who those two are and they have received, I think, the highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football. It far exceeds anyone that has ever played this game of college football."

This does happen for other players in college football, especially if they decided to play in a game that is seemingly meaningless, besides playing for pride and with their teammates one more time. But, what Colorado is doing, goes far above what we've seen in the past, especially from an insurance premium standpoint. 

If ESPN Wants Star Players To Compete, Pay Them

One of my biggest takeaways during this 2024 bowl season is the need for television networks to start paying these athletes for bringing an audience to the broadcast. Let's be honest here about the Colorado, BYU game on Saturday night. If Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders were not playing against the Cougars, I would imagine the ratings would be horrible. 

So, you can see who's benefiting from them being on the field. The same could be said for the Gator Bowl, which will have Ole Miss playing Duke. The Blue Devils are down to their third-string quarterback, so they aren’t drawing the ratings. No, it's Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, along with a player like Walter Nolan, who are going to be driving up the ratings. 

ATLANTA, GA DECEMBER 30: Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) reacts following the conclusion of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Penn State Nittany Lions on December 30th, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

How about the Alabama versus Michigan game? You think folks would be watching for four quarters if players like Jalen Milroe and Ryan Williams weren't participating? No, besides the matchup itself between the two teams, it would lack the starpower. 

This is why ESPN and the bowl game should start compensating these athletes on their own, outside of a quick NIL deal for the starting quarterback. Now, we are starting to see some of these bowl games hand out these temporary NIL deals to participate, while collectives are paying some of these guys a little extra to play, but it's nowhere near what they should get. 

The special occasion for this ‘Bowl Season’ is Colorado, with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders taking the field on Saturday night in San Antonio against BYU. 

If these games are going to continue being played, and you want folks to tune in, it's time to start giving them a cut of the revenue.