Most Valuable Athlete Body Parts of All Time
You’ve heard of car insurance and health insurance, but did you know you can insure parts of your body? Celebrities have been insuring their body parts for as long as insurance has been a thing — Bruce Springsteen’s voice, Heidi Klum’s legs, the list goes on! Similarly, athletes have started insuring their most important body parts — the ones that make them money.
A lot of athletes are insured just in case they get an injury that ends their playing career, though sometimes it’s just a publicity stunt. I mean, it caught our attention, didn’t it? Here are some of the most interesting and pricey insurance policies celebrities have taken out on their body.
Takeru Kobayashi — $100,000 On His Stomach
Don’t judge me, but I have been following competitive eating since high school and even voluntarily did a project on Takeru Kobayashi. The man is a beast, setting records and doing wild food challenges throughout his career until he got jaw arthritis. However, Kobayashi insured his stomach instead. There are even rumors that some insurance agencies turned him down since his career was so “dangerous.”
Troy Polamalu — $1 Million On His Hair
This NFL star had his hair insured for $1 million as part of his ongoing partnership with Head & Shoulders. His iconic curly hair was cut by Head & Shoulders three years after the announced insurance policy. He had four strands cut off as part of a charity fundraiser for the Veteran of Foreign Wars Foundation. What’s that, about $100,000 worth of hair?
Toronto Ultra — $4 Million On Their Fingers
Toronto Ultra is a Canadian Call of Duty team with four pro esports athletes — each of which has their fingers insured for $1 million each. Parent company OverActive Media partnered with Bell for the “Million Dollar Fingers” campaign, protecting the esports players’ most important body part, according to Bell.
“Many of the world’s top athletes have insured their most prized body parts, including star baseball pitchers insuring their arms and soccer players insuring their legs. By insuring esports players’ fingers up to $1 million each, Bell is reinforcing the legitimacy of esports as a professional sport and demonstrating the potential for growth and investment in the industry.” — David Kennedy, Vice President, Brand & Sponsorship, Bell
If any of the players end up with arthritis or tendonitis, a common infliction for competitive video game players and pros, they are now protected.
Manuel Neuer — $4.3 Million On His Hands
The German goalkeeper is often considered one of the best in the world, using his hands to save his team from defeat time and again. If anything ever happens to his hands, his career would be over, so it makes sense — if insuring a body part makes sense to begin with.
Mark McGwire — $12 Million On His Ankle
This Major League Baseball icon had his ankles insured for $12 million back in 1998. This was due to his ankle being a bit of an issue throughout his career.
The insurance policy required McGwire to take a steroid known as Androstenedione to prevent his ankle from getting even more injured. A few years later, the steroid was banned from MLB, causing a big controversy for McGwire at the time.
Fernando Alonso — $14 Million On His Thumbs
One of the best Formula One drivers in the world has recently insured his thumbs for £9 million, almost $14 million. It’s interesting that it’s not his whole hands, like the Call of Duty squad above — but thumbs are very important in professional racing apparently.
“Alonso's thumbs are a symbol, as well as being essential for driving a Formula One car, in that they make a sign of victory and show that everything is under control and well protected,” bank Santander said in a statement.
Venus Williams — $15 Million On Her Wrists
Venus Williams is one of the most iconic tennis players in history, an Olympic medalist with 49 WTA singles titles and 22 WTA doubles. After two major wrist injuries, Williams decided to insure her wrists in case further sprains — or worse — occurred.
Brett Favre — $22.8 Million On His Right Arm
After a torn bicep tendon, the nearly 40-year-old NFL quarterback didn’t want to take any chances. The insurance company that issued the policy explained that his age and the “violence” of football were enough to cost $1.2 million for every $1 million of insurance to keep the arm covered.
Cristiano Ronaldo — £90 Million On His Legs
Ronaldo is considered one of the best football players of all time and is world-famous for his talent. When Real Madrid signed him in 2009, the team insured the star athlete’s legs. This was alongside his £80 million transfer fee, the biggest transfer fee in history at that time.
David Beckham — £100 Million On His Legs
Beckham is another soccer player to have his legs insured, but at £100 million, this broke all kinds of records at the time. This personal insurance policy was announced in 2006. At that time, it was rumored to be split among multiple insurance companies.
Lionel Messi — €750 Million On His Legs
This is the current highest personal insurance policy at time of writing. As the best football player in the world, it’s not a surprise to see that Messi has taken out insurance on his most important body part… But €750 million?! Wow!
