COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M redshirt sophomore quarterback Johnny Manziel has played one year of football for the Aggies and already some are wondering when he might leave.
And while the Heisman Trophy winner says he isn't making a decision on his NFL future until he has to, he and his family are certainly mindful of Manziel's future, and in particular, his future earning potential.
Manziel confirmed on Tuesday that his family is in the process of securing an insurance policy in case an injury were to prevent him from playing pro football.
"We're currently in the process of doing that," Manziel said after the Aggies' second practice of the spring. "It's just a precaution. I think there's a lot of players who have done it in the past and you never know what could happen. Football is a dangerous sport, so you kind of have to make sure that you take a precaution in that regard."
The 20-year-old signal caller said his parents are handling it and he's unaware of how much the policy will be worth.
"I don't know that [number]," Manziel said. "My parents are doing most of it along with A&M. Like I said, I'm here to play football and go to school, so that's what I'm trying to do."
Securing insurance through the NCAA is a common practice for players who are potential NFL draft picks. It's not unusual for a player who is eligible to declare for the draft but decides to return to school for another year of college football to take out such a policy.
The NCAA sponsors what is termed the "Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance Program." Football and men's basketball student-athletes can receive up to $5 million in coverage. The program has been in existence since 1990 to help student-athletes protect against future loss of earnings as a result of a disabling injury or illness during the player's college career.
"He's not the only player that does that," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. "There's plenty of players that do that.
"I talk to players all the time about different issues in their lives and guys that for whatever reason, feel like they need to protect their interests professionally, they have insurance policies. There's ways to do that through the NCAA and like I said, there's probably more people than you think that have done that over the course of the last few years."
Manziel said even though he knows he's going to continue to be asked about going pro, he'll handle it the same way he has so far.
"I'll just try to answer it the same way I do every time and that's just that it's always been a dream of mine, but for now, I'm very content and very happy where I am right now," Manziel said. "I'm not leaning any way. Whenever that decision comes, [I'll] have to sit there and evaluate it just like you do anything else in your life.
"If the NFL, you have an opportunity to go, then you look at it. Like I said, I love this place, I love coach Sumlin and all my teammates here. I'm very happy with being in Aggieland for five, six, however many years I'm here. I'm not in any rush to make a decision like that."