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Two-time defending national champion USC will surely open next season No. 1 in at least one category. With its backfield alone expected to be covered for more than $10 million, the Trojans may be the most highly insured team in college football history.

Quarterback Matt Leinart, running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White and at least five other players either have, or are in the process of securing, policies to insure them against serious injuries. Such policies are a protective staple for elite draft-eligible college football players and, in their own way, have become as standard as helmets, shoulder pads and mouth guards.

Though the investment rarely pays off because of advances in medical science, families across the country are hustling to secure coverage that promises a payout in the unlikely event a top prospect suffers a career-ending injury before striking NFL riches.

Leinart, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, is “definitely a candidate that would be eligible for a $10 million-plus policy,” said Keith Lerner, a chartered life underwriter and financial consultant based in Gainesville, Fla., who has secured insurance policies for college athletes since 1988.

Leinart, who announced last month that he was returning for his senior season of eligibility, played last season covered by a $1-million policy that his father, Bob, purchased for $20,000 through Lloyd’s of London. Bob Leinart said he recently secured another policy for his son but declined to reveal the amount of coverage, the term or the premium.

The families of Bush and White, both juniors, along with those of senior tight end Dominique Byrd, junior offensive tackle Winston Justice, junior receiver Steve Smith, junior safety Darnell Bing and junior defensive lineman Manuel Wright also are expected to secure policies before the Trojans open spring practice on March 22.

“It’s not out of the question to think that this team could be in the $15- to $20-million range,” said Lerner, who has not secured policies for any current or former Trojans.

Insurance against career-ending injuries has been available to college athletes for decades through private underwriters such as Lloyd’s of London and since 1990 through the NCAA. The NCAA contracts a private insurance company to administer its program, which launched not to compete for business but to ward off the influence of sports agents, said Juanita Sheely, the NCAA’s travel and insurance coordinator.

“Some of the more unscrupulous agents would promise to obtain this type of insurance and pay for it if the athlete would agree to become a client,” Sheely said.

Premiums for policies secured through private insurers can cost anywhere from about $15,000 for $1 million of coverage to about $200,000 for $10 million, Lerner said. Policies are typically for 12- to 18-month periods, but they can be for as short as one game. If a career-ending injury occurs, a tax-free, lump-sum payout is made one year from the date of the injury.

The premiums for policies secured through the NCAA are slightly cheaper. The cost of a $1-million, 18-month policy, for example, is $10,000 to $12,000. But the NCAA caps coverage for football players at $3 million. Tax-free payouts are issued every six months over the course of 30 months.

“Our program will tend to be a little more restrictive,” Sheely said. “It’s not a profit center.”

Insurance experts say interest in policies for star college athletes spiked after Jan. 3, 2003, the night Miami running back Willis McGahee suffered a major knee injury in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.

Two weeks before that bowl championship series title game, Lerner began securing $2.5 million of coverage for McGahee through Lloyd’s of London, which underwrites the vast majority of policies secured by college athletes.

McGahee’s policy went into effect just before the Fiesta Bowl, and his family breathed a sigh of relief later that night at the hospital. But the 2002 Heisman finalist never collected. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, he was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd pick in the 2003 draft and signed a four-year contract that reportedly could be worth more than $15 million if he reaches all incentives.

Nevertheless, McGahee’s injury pushed interest in insurance “over the edge,” Lerner said.

Nearly every player who will be selected in the first three rounds of the April 23 NFL draft probably played last season with insurance to protect against a career-ending injury, according to Lerner, who wrote policies for more than a dozen players taken in the first round over the last four years.

The increasing number of basketball players who bypass college for pro basketball also has fueled the insurance trend.

“This type of business has been growing and growing and growing due to the astronomical growth in salaries,” Lerner said. “It continues to grow, especially with high school basketball players going straight to the NBA. It used to be, we couldn’t look at writing high school guys. Now, we can look at 10th and 11th graders.”

The NCAA pays for insurance to cover all athletes at member institutions for catastrophic injuries such as a severe head trauma or spinal cord damage, Sheely said.

The NCAA also offers Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance (ESDI). That program, underwritten by Massachusetts-based ASU International, is available to football and men’s hockey players who are projected to be selected in the first three rounds of the NFL or NHL drafts. Basketball and baseball players projected as first-round picks in the NBA, WNBA or major league drafts also qualify.

Some 80 to 100 athletes each year participate in the ESDI program. About 75% to 80% are football players.

Sheely said football players can purchase from $500,000 to the maximum of $3 million in coverage. Men’s basketball players are eligible for up to $4.4 million in coverage.

The NCAA offers a loan program that allows athletes to secure financing through U.S. Bank in Cincinnati for the exact amount of the policy premium, including fees and interest. The loan can be secured without a parent’s signature or collateral, and repayment is not due until the athlete signs a pro contract, exhausts his eligibility or collects a payout after suffering an injury.

But the 30-month payout provision, along with other restrictions such as those regarding previous injuries, causes many athletes to seek insurance elsewhere.

Athletes, however, still must follow NCAA compliance rules if they secure insurance -- and loans to pay for it -- through private companies and banks outside the NCAA program. Though the NCAA does not require it, compliance officials at member schools usually require athletes to submit documents for review, Sheely said.

Like the NCAA program, private underwriters must project where the player might be drafted. They often use pro scouting services to help make evaluations.

“It’s not an exact science by any stretch of the imagination,” Lerner said.

Players who are not projected as top-round picks can obtain insurance during the season if their performance elevates them to that status. McGahee, for example, was unable to secure insurance before his redshirt sophomore season because he was not even projected as a starter. By the Fiesta Bowl, he was regarded as a top-five pick.

Bill Palmer, the father of 2002 Heisman winner Carson Palmer, said he purchased policies for his son in 2001 and 2002 from Lloyd’s of London.

But Bill Palmer said the decision was not easy because improved medical science has made it possible to recover from what in the past would have been considered career-ending injuries.

“I wrestled with whether or not it was worth it,” Bill Palmer said. “We did do it because he wanted to. I told him it was a loan.”

Ed Chester knew the chances of suffering a true career-ending injury were small, but he still took out a $1-million policy through Lerner for less than $12,000 before his senior season at Florida in 1998.

Chester, a defensive tackle, suffered a knee injury that ended his chances for a pro career. He collected his payout roughly a year later.

Chester still lives in Gainesville, Fla., and works at a Boys and Girls Club helping area youth. Not surprisingly, he advocates purchasing insurance.

“That policy allows me to do a job that I enjoy,” he said. “I think guys are dumb if they don’t do it.”

To help athletes and parents make educated decisions about insurance and other issues such as agents, many universities have put together advisory bodies.

Alabama’s Professional Sports Counseling Panel, for example, comprises several faculty members and athletic administrators who are specialists in sports law, financial planning and career counseling.

Last season, the panel sponsored seminars for parents and guardians of players at the stadium before each home game. Topics included the advantages of staying in school, insurance, how to select an agent and the transition to professional sports.

Robert McLeod, a professor of finance who serves as chairman of the panel, said parents often need help with insurance issues.

“Most of them are at least familiar that there is a disability policy available, but they are not very knowledgeable of the terms and provisions and limitations,” McLeod said. “They think if you blow out your knee and you’re out for a year, you get $2 million. It doesn’t work that way. We try to tell them that all the policies aren’t written the same.”

Bob Leinart discovered as much after his son announced last month that he would forgo entering the NFL draft and return for a final season. Initially, Bob Leinart said he would probably seek a policy in the range of $5 million.

Asked how much coverage he ultimately purchased, Bob Leinart said, “He’s protected, we’re happy, and that’s all we’re saying.”

LaMar Griffin, Bush’s stepfather, said his son did not have insurance last season when he was a Heisman finalist. But Griffin recently said Bush would definitely be covered next season, perhaps in the $3-million range.

The McGahee episode still resonates.

“He could be a top-five pick if he comes out next year,” Griffin said. “He might do a Leinart thing, but I have to get some type of coverage on him just to be safe and not sorry.”

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Insurance Policy

* What: Disability insurance policies cover athletes in case they suffer career-ending injuries. They usually are for 12- to 18-month terms but can be written for as short as one day. Because of advances in medical science and surgical procedures, the chances of suffering a true career-ending injury are remote. When payoffs are applicable, private companies make a one-time, lump-sum, tax-free payout 12 months after the date of injury. The NCAA’s Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance (ESDI) program, underwritten by a private insurer, pays off in five installments over a 30-month period.

* Who: Any athlete projected to be chosen in a professional draft is technically eligible for insurance through private insurers such as Lloyd’s of London. Most schools discourage athletes from purchasing insurance policies unless they are projected as early-round selections. The NCAA offers a program to elite, draft-eligible athletes in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and men’s ice hockey. In football, athletes are eligible if they are projected to go in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. In basketball, baseball and hockey, players must be projected first-round selections.

* Price: A $1-million, 18-month policy purchased through a private insurer costs about $15,000; a $5-million policy about $100,000; a $10-million policy about $200,000. A bank loan for the exact amount of the premium can be arranged with payment due upon the signing of a professional contract or completion of eligibility. A $1-million, 18-month policy purchased through the NCAA’s ESDI program costs about $10,000 to $12,000. Football players projected as first-round NFL draft picks are eligible for up to $3 million in coverage; basketball players are eligible for up to $4.4 million. A bank loan for the exact amount of the premium can be arranged with payment due upon the signing of a professional contract or the completion of eligibility.