Philadelphia Eagles running back Jay Ajayi suffered an unfortunate torn ACL in last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings. In a contract year, this injury is likely going to cost Ajayi big time once he hits free agency in March.
For the former Boise State star, injuries impacting his pocketbook is nothing new. Considered a first-round talent heading into the 2015 NFL Draft, Ajayi fell to the fifth round due to concerns over a bone-on-bone condition in his knee.
The good news? Ajayi reportedly took out an insurance policy prior to suffering said torn ACL last week.
“According to his business manager Josh Sanchez, Ajayi bought a loss-of-value insurance policy this past year (and the year before) to protect him against exactly what ended up happening,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday.
The policy valued Ajayi as a significant free agent, meaning he can be paid out a total of $5 million after taxes.
If Ajayi’s free agent value goes down based on the ACL injury, the policy will make up the difference. Rapoport points to a potential four-year, $16 million deal, pre-injury. Anything less than that “value” up to $5 million would kick in the policy.
This is no way new around the NFL world. We’ve seen it multiple times in the past. That’s true when it comes to impending rookies who have not even played a single NFL snap.
One might say it’s the new normal. And it’s actually a darn good contingency plan for these young men.