Will Others Follow Colorado’s Bold Move To Ensure College Stars Play in Bowl Games?

Colorado University literally ensured its top two players would play in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday by purchasing disability insurance policies on quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter. Just don’t expect that to become a trend.The Buffaloes face BYU on Saturday at San Antonio, each team’s final game of the season. Mr. Sanders and Mr. Hunter could be the first two selections in the NFL Draft, guaranteeing both roughly $40 million contracts. In recent years, players have opted out of participating in non-playoff bowl games to avoid serious injury, a poor performance in a bowl game that could impact their draft selection, or to start finding a new team through the transfer portal. Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Joe Alt were the top five picks in last year’s NFL draft. All of them skipped their respective bowl games in 2023.Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said last month that all of his players, including Mr. Sanders and Mr. Hunter, would play in their bowl game and this week confirmed the university had secured insurance policies that would protect the players in case of injury. Several other Buffaloes are reported to also have had disability insurance policies in place during the season, but Mr. Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have “the highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football and far exceeds anyone who has ever played this game of college football,” Deion Sanders said.Colorado athletic director Rick George signed off on the deal. Colorado hasn’t won a bowl game since defeating Texas-El Paso in 2004. They have lost four straight bowl games since then, the last coming in 2020 when they lost to Texas at the Alamo Bowl. “We’re excited all our players are playing in the game,” Mr. George said. “That’s what all bowl games should be like.”Don’t expect that to become a trend, especially with teams involved in non-playoff games. Granted, it’s a brilliant and honorable move by Colorado. Deion Sanders certainly wants to coach his son and Mr. Hunter, whom he treats like a son, in their final college game. It’s also a gesture seen as a way of protecting student-athletes, which is sure to become a recruiting tool to impress prospects. Yet most schools will pass on the expense or let the athletes buy their insurance if they feel the need.The college football playoffs have expanded to 12 teams this year as dozens of prominent players are skipping their bowl games, including Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III, North Carolina running back Omarion Hamption, Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, USC quarterback Miller Moss, and Alabama running back Justice Haynes.Marshall, winners of the Sun Belt Conference, had to opt out as a team from an invitation to the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl after a coaching change prompted nearly 40 players to enter the transfer portal. Louisiana Tech (5-7) now faces Army at Shreveport, Louisiana on Saturday.Shedeur Sanders, who passed for 3,926 yards and 35 touchdowns this season, told reporters why he chose to play in a bowl game when others have chosen to opt-out. “It’s all about the team and it’s all about everything I stand for,” he said. “Just because they project X, Y, and Z doesn’t mean I can’t play with my (teammates). We may not have a chance to play together again on the same team. It’s about cherishing the moment. It’s about knowing this is the final collegiate game.”Mr. Sanders also wants to use his final college game to improve his “problem-solving” skills. The bowl game matches two Big 12 teams. BYU finished 10-2 after a 9-0 start. The Buffaloes were 9-3. BYU has the best scoring defense in the Big 12 allowing 20.1 points.“It’s very hard to find a flaw when it comes to them because of the way they go about their business,” he said of BYU. “You don’t know who’s doing what. They’ve got a great scheme. So I’m blessed that for my final collegiate game to go against that type of challenge.”

Will Others Follow Colorado’s Bold Move To Ensure College Stars Play in Bowl Games?

Will Others Follow Colorado’s Bold Move To Ensure College Stars Play in Bowl Games?

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