Free agent tight end Jermichael Finley faced a tough decision this off-season. As he rehabbed and worked his way back from a dangerous neck injury, Finley ultimately looked like he was planning to try to play once again in 2014 rather than hang up his cleats.
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The decision had an important caveat, however. According to reports, Finley had the option of falling back on a lucrative insurance policy if he decided not to play. As it was presented at the time, it appeared that the talented tight end had the option to either quit and collect that insurance money or push on with his career.
Those options might not be so black and white, however, which only makes Finley’s situation murkier. Rand Getlin of Yahoo! writes that the insurance policy that Finley thought was there for him might not actually be what he thought it was:
"While the language in policies varies by provider, permanent total disability (PTD) policies generally don’t pay out unless a player experiences a disability that prevents him from playing professional football again, said Chris Larcheveque, executive vice president of International Specialty Insurance."
At this point things get down in the weeds a little bit, but it has to do with coverage that Finley did not acquire, making it complicated if he is making a choice not to play even though he theoretically would be healthy enough to do so:
"While discussion about whether Finley decides to collect the money from his disability policy or play the game is intriguing, it wouldn’t be taking place had he purchased a “loss of value” policy in addition to his disability policy. Loss of value insurance is designed to cover a player for the difference between what he would have made if healthy and what he ends up making after an injury or illness…"
The entire development has been difficult for Finley to deal with and potentially sad for the rest of us to watch. If Finley wants to play and gets that chance, it will be easy to cheer him on. But if he decides he does not want to risk further injury, things could get complicated, and unfortunately so.