Jermichael Finley to file $10 million insurance claim

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Jermichael Finley would still like to play in the NFL this season. While he pursues that goal, Finley reportedly plans to file a $10 million claim on a disability insurance policy.

Former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is still looking for an NFL gig this season. In the meantime, he is looking to collect on a $10 million disability insurance policy that can reportedly kick in because he has not played in four games after a frightening neck injury last season that required surgery.

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Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports on Finley’s plan:

"Finley is filing a claim on his $10 million insurance policy, which can be paid out as soon as Oct. 20 – one year to the day after he suffered a scary injury that required spinal fusion surgery, a person with knowledge of Finley’s thinking told USA TODAY Sports on Friday."

It can be paid out that soon, but that certainly doesn’t mean it will be. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk offers an additional note of skepticism on the matter:

"A traditional disability policy won’t be kicking out cash quite so easily. A traditional disability policy would pay only in the event of a career-ending injury.And the insurance company undoubtedly would seize on Finley’s prior admission that he received an offer from the Steelers in support of an argument that the injury didn’t end his career. This would mean that Finley’s career ended not because of injury but because Finley didn’t want to accept the offer."

And therein lies the problem, something that was also reported a little over two months ago regarding Finley’s policy. These disability policies typically only pay out if the injury prevents the player from ever playing again. Clearly that is not the case with Finley, who is openly trying to come back.

Along those lines, Finley created a problem for himself when he took out the policy because he did not purchase a “loss of value” policy (that according to a Yahoo! report from Rand Getlin).

Finley, who underwent a frightening operation in which this C-3 and C-4 vertebrae were fused, can certainly file this claim. There might even be language that technically says he can be paid after he misses four games. That said, this report likely overlooks some of the caveats in Finley’s policy that make it unlikely he will actually get paid while he is still attempting a comeback.

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