Do professional athletes get paid when they are injured? In most cases, yes, but how much and for how long depends on the league and the specific contract. MLB, NBA, and NHL contracts are guaranteed, so the salary keeps coming even when a player cannot take the field. NFL contracts are mostly not guaranteed, and pay after an injury depends on whether the injury was football-related, whether the player stays on the roster, and how much of the deal was locked in when it was signed. On top of contract pay, injured players can tap workers’ compensation, private disability insurance, and injury settlements, each with its own rules.
MLB, NBA, and NHL: Salary Keeps Coming
In Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, the standard player contract guarantees base salary through injury. A baseball player who signs a five-year, $100 million deal and tears a ligament in year two is still owed every remaining dollar. The MLB definition of a guaranteed contract states that the player receives all compensation “even if they are released by the team or injured before the contract or agreement ends.”
NBA contracts work the same way under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement: base compensation is protected against injury, so a knee surgery or back procedure does not reduce or void the team’s obligation. NHL Standard Player Contracts likewise guarantee salary regardless of whether the player is available. In all three leagues, the team absorbs the financial risk of an injury.
One caveat travels with each of these contracts: if the injury came from an activity the contract prohibits, the team may pursue discipline. Absent that, guaranteed money is paid.
How the NFL Pays Injured Players
Football is the outlier. Most of an NFL contract is not guaranteed, and teams can release players for almost any reason, wiping out remaining unguaranteed years. The NFLPA tells its own members that “very little of your income is contractually guaranteed” and that “teams have the authority to release or waive players for any reason.”1NFLPA Document Source. NFLPA Income Protection Plan That framework shapes everything about how an injured NFL player gets paid.
Injured Reserve Pay for the Current Season
When an NFL player is hurt playing football during the season, the team typically moves the player to Injured Reserve. The player continues receiving base salary through the rest of that season. The protection is only for the current year. The team can still cut the player before the next season starts, and any unguaranteed money on future years disappears. Only the portion of the contract explicitly labeled as guaranteed, such as a signing bonus or guaranteed base salary in specified years, survives a release.
Injury Protection Benefit After a Release
A player who is released after a football-related injury can qualify for the Injury Protection Benefit under Article 45 of the CBA. It pays up to a capped amount, currently $2,100,000 for a single season, to partially replace the salary the player would have earned if they had stayed healthy and on the roster.2Over The Cap. NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Article 45 – Injury Protection For a starter on a big deal, that cap can be a small piece of what a healthy season would have paid.
Injury Grievances
If a team cuts a player who still cannot perform because of a football-related injury, the player can file an Injury Grievance. The CBA defines it as a claim that at the time the contract was terminated, the player was unable to perform because of an injury sustained under that contract. The player or the NFLPA must file the grievance in writing within 25 days of learning the contract was terminated.3Over The Cap. NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Article 44 – Injury Grievances A successful grievance can force the team to pay salary that would otherwise have been forfeited. Teams commonly defend these claims by arguing the player failed a preseason physical or hid a prior condition.
Injuries That Happen Off the Field
The protections above apply to injuries suffered playing or practicing. When an NFL player is hurt doing something unrelated to football, such as a car accident, a recreational sports injury, or a flare-up of a preexisting condition, the picture changes. The team can place the player on the Non-Football Injury or Illness list, and under the CBA a player on that list “will not be entitled to any compensation under his contract.”4Over The Cap. NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Article 20, Section 3 The contract continues to run, but the paychecks stop.
MLB, NBA, and NHL players generally keep their guaranteed salary regardless of how the injury occurred, subject to any prohibited-activity clauses in the contract.
Workers’ Compensation Runs Alongside the Contract
Professional athletes are employees, and like other employees they can file for workers’ compensation when they are hurt on the job.5NFLPA. Are NFL Players Eligible for Workers’ Compensation? Those benefits exist independently of the contract and cover two things: medical expenses tied to the injury, and a portion of lost wages during recovery.
The medical coverage tends to be the most valuable piece, especially for players without guaranteed contracts. Surgeries, rehabilitation, and physical therapy for a work-related injury are paid by the employer’s insurer. Wage replacement is capped by state law and is modest against professional salaries. Maximum weekly disability payments range from roughly $630 in the lowest-paying states to around $2,300 in the highest.6Social Security Administration. Chart of States’ Maximum Workers’ Compensation Rates For a player earning millions, the state cap replaces a small fraction of income, but it covers basic expenses and keeps medical bills off the player’s personal ledger. Because the program is state-run, filing rules vary, and players whose careers took them across several teams may have claims in more than one state.
Private Disability Insuranceh2>
Many high-earning athletes buy their own coverage on top of what the league and workers’ compensation provide. Two policy types dominate.
Permanent Total Disability Policies
A Permanent Total Disability policy pays a lump sum if an injury or illness permanently ends the player’s career. The payout is a fixed dollar amount set when the policy is purchased. Premiums typically run about $1 to $2 per $1,000 of coverage, so a $10 million policy might cost $10,000 to $20,000 a year. Before benefits pay out, a physician must certify that the injury is career-ending, and the player has to satisfy an elimination period that is usually around 12 months. That waiting period is what lets the insurer confirm the condition is genuinely permanent.
Loss-of-Value Insurance
Loss-of-value policies protect projected future earnings rather than covering a career-ending event. They are popular among college athletes entering a draft and NFL players approaching free agency. If an injury drops the next contract well below what was projected, the policy pays the difference. The trigger is a high bar: the new contract typically has to come in at least 40 percent below the player’s projected market value before a claim is valid. If a quarterback projected at $10 million over four years signs a post-injury deal for $5 million, an LOV policy would cover the gap.
How These Payments Are Taxed
Take-home pay after an injury depends not just on which sources pay out, but on how each source is taxed.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation payments are excluded from gross income under federal tax law. The Internal Revenue Code specifically provides that amounts received under workers’ compensation acts as compensation for personal injuries or sickness are not taxable.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness That covers both the wage-replacement portion and the medical benefits.
Private Disability Insurance
Tax treatment of a private disability payout depends on who paid the premiums. If the athlete paid the premiums with after-tax income, the benefits come in tax-free.8Internal Revenue Service. Life Insurance and Disability Insurance Proceeds If the team or employer paid the premiums, the benefits are fully taxable as income. If the cost was split, only the portion tied to the employer’s share is taxable. Most players buy their own PTD and loss-of-value policies, so the payouts are typically received tax-free.
Injury Settlements
A lump-sum settlement tied to a physical injury, whether from a claim against a team or a third party, is generally excludable from gross income if it compensates for a personal physical injury or physical sickness. Punitive damages are always taxable regardless of the underlying injury.9Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments Settlements for non-physical claims, including emotional distress that is not tied to a physical injury, are taxable as well. How a settlement is characterized in the agreement can determine whether the money arrives tax-free or fully taxable, so the wording matters.
The Practical Picture During a Long Injury
A player on a guaranteed deal who also files a workers’ compensation claim receives both the salary and the workers’ compensation benefits. The salary is taxable; the workers’ compensation is not. If a private disability policy also pays, its tax treatment turns on who funded the premiums.
For NFL players without guaranteed money, the numbers can narrow fast. A player released after a season-ending injury may end up with only the Injury Protection Benefit capped at $2,100,000, workers’ compensation wage replacement capped at a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars per week depending on the state, and whatever private insurance they bought. The gap between that total and what a healthy season would have paid can be large, which is why financial advisors in professional sports consistently push NFL players to buy private coverage early rather than lean on league-provided protections alone.