Insurance is wound within the Alex Rodriguez-Yankees saga and I love every minute of it.

Conspiracy theories abound. Some say the New York Yankees are looking to keep “A-Rod” off the field in order to collect on an insurance policy they have to protect themselves against the remainder of a now-ludicrous-looking 10-year, $275 million contract.

Outstanding—from the points of a view of a rabid baseball fan and an insurance journalist…not to mention a Mets fan and a lover of all things disruptive to the Bronx Bombers.

It is also funny to read how a sports writer pens some graphs on actual insurance, rather than their typical use of the word—used, for example, in referring to a team's acquisition of a left-hander as “bullpen insurance.”

Rodriguez, who has been slowly working his way back from a serious hip injury, is due about $114 million on his contract—$28 million in 2013. If the third baseman, who the Yankees say now has a quad strain, doesn't take the field again this year, the Yankees are reportedly due a percentage of what they owe the 38-year-old player this year.

If A-Rod never takes the field again due to the injury, the team is also covered by insurance—reportedly provided by broker, Team Scotti.

Also Read: Insurers Can Be Big-Time Sports Players By Covering Mega-Deals For Superstars

The amount the Yankees are entitled to from insurance depends on what report you read, but in many of the reports, insurance is again and again tied to conspiracy theories on the Yankees' reasoning for keeping A-Rod off the field.

After all, A-Rod says he's ready to go and isn't injured, and even went so far as to hire his own doctor to say so. But the Yankees' doctor says A-Rod needs to sit and heal some more. It isn't safe for him to play, the team doctor has diagnosed.

How does this affect insurance coverage? Would a policy meant to protect a team from the risk of a high-priced player's injury kick in if the high-priced player says he is able to take the field?

This scenario gets a lot more complicated by adding in the fact A-Rod has something on the line too. He is rumored to be under investigation by Major League Baseball for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. A-Rod seems perpetually on the verge of either a long-time suspension or ban from baseball for PED violations.

I will not go into the specifics of the PEDs-in-baseball-scandal that goes well beyond A-Rod, but he isn't getting the remainder of his contract paid if MLB suspends or bans him from baseball before he can retire for “injury” reasons.

But that doesn't appear to be a motivation of Rodriguez, since he's practically begging the Yankees to play.

Howard Mills, director and chief advisor of Deloitte's insurance industry group and a former New York State insurance commissioner, says the insuring professional sports contracts is a niche several insurers play in and each policy is different.

“There is no standard policy form—it all depends on the team and player involved,” says Mills, adding that the policy could be voided if a player uses illegally-banned substances. “There are different policies and coverage and exclusions.”

No matter the outcome of this, I'll be watching. This baseball soap opera (which basically boils down to one thing: the Yankees are miffed MLB didn't act to suspend or ban A-Rod before the team needed to act on whether to allow him to return from injury) is entertaining enough.

Add in an insurance angle and I'm really hooked.

Special Reports /

Insurance Caught in the Web of A-Rod 'Injury' Saga

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