Johnny Manziel has only played one year football in college and already he is thinking about his pro future. The countdown to Manziel entering the NFL has already begun despite the fact he is technically a freshman in NCAA terms. While the Heisman Trophy winner says he has yet to make a decision on his future and how long he will play college football, he making an effort to protect his future. Manziel told ESPN that his family is in the process of securing an insurance policy in case an injury prevents him from being able to play in the NFL.
"We're currently in the process of doing that. It's just a precaution. Think there's a lot of players who have done it in the past and you never know what could happen. Football is a dangerous sport, so you kind of have to make sure that you take a precaution in that regard," Manziel said.
The quarterback told media after Texas A&M's second spring practice that he is unaware how much the policy is worth. He said his parents are working with the university to work out the details of the policy. Securing an insurance policy through the NCAA is fairly common for players that have NFL potential early on. It helps insure that they will return to the school to play another year.
Football and men's basketball student-athletes can receive up to $5 million in coverage. The program has existed since 1990 to help student-athletes protect against the loss of future earnings. Manziel is already being projected as a top draft pick when he decides to go pro. By NCAA rule, he must complete one more year of college football before he is eligible to enter the NFL draft. Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin says Manziel is certainly not the first player to make this move.
"I talk to players all the time about different issues in their lives and guys that for whatever reason, feel like they need to protect their interests professionally, they have insurance policies. There's ways to do that through the NCAA and like I said, there's probably more people than you think that have done that over the course of the last few years," Sumlin said.
Manziel had a breakout year in the NCAA that saw him winning the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first freshman to win the award. He broke the NCAA single season record for offensive production in the SEC with 4,600 total yards of offense. He also became the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.