Will The NHL's Concussion Problem Become an Insurance Problem?

Reports suggest insurers don't want to cover the salaries of players out for more than 30 games due to head injuries.

The concussion epidemic in the NHL – about 60 players, or about eight per cent of the league, have suffered one this year – could lead to insurers no longer covering players' head injuries. While no insurer has come out and said as much, numerous reports from industry insiders believe that the burden insurers face is growing too heavy. For example, the Pittsburgh Penguins' insurer covers the salary for players if they miss more than 30 consecutive games in a season. So, they'll be picking up the tab for a healthy chunk of Sidney Crosby's $8.7 million salary for this season, in addition to about half of that total for last year. The same is true of the Philadelphia Flyers' Chris Pronger ($7.6 million/ year), who's missing nearly the entire season due to post-concussion syndrome. Perhaps the most notable case is that of Boston Bruins' forward Marc Savard, who has passed that 30-game threshold this season and the two previous, also due to post-concussion syndrome. Over that time, insurers would have had to cover more than $10 million of his salary. You can see how this quickly becomes untenable for insurance companies when at least one player on most teams misses that much time due to head injuries each season.

The NHL's deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, says that no teams' insurance premiums have gone up because of this trend, but if the possibility remains that teams might have to start covering the full costs of their players' noggins. And since nothing gets professional sports teams to react more than changes to their bottom line, perhaps there's a silver lining to the news. After all, a struggling team like the Columbus Blue Jackets could ill afford to cover Rick Nash's $7.5-million salary should he be out for an extended period with a head injury. Ditto for the Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, and many more skating on thin financial ice (until they relocate to Canada, at least).