Posted: 15 hours 46 minutes ago
Insurance policy all but guarantees Romo will get paid
By Adam Schefter | NFL Network
Circumstances in Dallas have changed so dramatically that Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has gone from being his team’s insurance policy to having a $30 million one.
Before the season, without anyone noticing, Romo took out a $30 million, “loss-of-value” insurance policy, meaning the Cowboys quarterback, now in the last year of his contract, will be cashing in whether he’s healthy or hurt.
What’s different and notable about Romo’s loss-of-value policy -- unlike the permanent-disability insurance policies numerous athletes have taken out over the years -- is that he doesn’t have to suffer a career-ending injury to get paid.
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As a matter of policy, Tony Romo will be taken care of in the event he suffers an injury.
Romo’s loss-of-value policy spells out that the quarterback would be eligible to be paid if an injury contributed to a downturn in his performance that affected his value on the open market.
If, for example, Romo broke his pinkie and his statistics slumped, then the quarterback would have a compelling case to collect on his policy.
The premium on it is not cheap; it is costing Romo somewhere in the vicinity of $150,000 this season. However, it enables him to have peace of mind and play with reckless abandon, knowing that he is insured in the event of injury.
Romo is not the only Cowboy in the last year of his contrcat playing with an insurance policy. Running back Julius Jones also has a $2.5 million insurance policy, but his is for permamenent disability. Jones would have to suffer a career-ending injury to cash in on it.
Romo is getting paid one way or another. If he stays healthy and continues playing the way he has this season –- Romo is the conductor of an offense now ranked No. 1 in the NFC –- then Dallas either will be forced to sign him to a lucrative, long-term extension or slap the exclusive franchise tag on him.
The exclusive franchise tag would block any team from trying to sign Romo to an offer sheet but also would mean the Cowboys would have to pay him the average of the five highest quarterback salary-cap numbers in 2008, which is expected to be over $14 million.
