Between the surgery on his ankle and the loss of No. 1 receiver Sidney Rice for half the season, plenty of folks to pick up Brett Favre in fantasy drafts will be nervous about his 2010 outlook. Unfortunately for them, they won’t be able to buy insurance to help them rest easier.
According to this report from CNBC sports business guru Darren Rovell, FantasySportsInsurance.com is not including Favre among its list of insurable players in 2010.
“Favre is not going to be insurable this year,” said Henry Olszewski of Fantasy Sports Insurance, which is in its second year of operation. “Drafting him could be a good idea, but insuring him is not. He’s old, he’s got ailing injuries that constantly perk up, and even though he plays through them, there’s a big risk.”
Now, I’m no insurance salesman, so I’ll leave the official risk-assessment work to those folks and their actuaries (although my younger brother is one of those). From here, though, leaving Favre out of the available fantasy insurance packages seems to be a bigger risk for those trying to profit from sales.
Take a quick look at Favre’s NFL.com player profile, and you’ll see what we all already know: The guy has played a full schedule every year since 1993. He simply doesn’t miss games, despite the assorted ailments along the way that comes with being targeted for a living by angry, 290-pound dudes. (As Rovell points out, including playoffs, Favre has played in 309 consecutive games, an NFL record.)
This time last year, we all wondered whether Favre’s surgically repaired right (throwing) elbow would hold up. All he did was thrive his way through the full 16-game regular season and two playoff contests.
According to FSI policy, an insured football player must miss nine regular-season games (or combine for 14 with another covered player or 18 with two others) to draw an insurance payout. Doesn’t it make sense for the insurance seller to bet against the possibility of Favre missing nine games or more?
Obviously, the advancing age and collection of injuries along the way increased the potential risk, but it’s just that concern coupled with his transcendent prominence that would make Favre an ideal unofficial pitch man for selling fantasy insurance.
Alas, fantasy drafters will have to pick up the NFL iron man at their own risk. Frankly, it’s a risk I’m willing to take.