College team doctors face legal risks as athlete earnings and pressures grow.
College sports have changed. What used to be a stepping-stone to the pros or a way to earn a degree now looks a lot more like big business. Some college athletes are making serious money while still in school, with some top names landing endorsement deals worth six or seven figures. This shift has brought new challenges—especially for those working behind the scenes, like team doctors. Their role hasn’t changed much, but the pressure on them has grown.
Not long ago, if a college athlete got hurt, the stakes were mostly personal. Maybe the injury would slow them down or cost them a spot on the team. But now, getting sidelined could mean losing out on real money. An athlete who can’t play might miss chances to sign endorsements or transfer to a higher-profile program. That kind of financial loss, some believe, could soon turn into lawsuits. And the people likely to be blamed? The medical staff.
Team doctors already carry malpractice insurance. But now, they’re looking into bumping up coverage amounts. In the past, a typical policy might have maxed out at a million dollars per incident. That might not be enough if a player claims a botched treatment cost them millions in future earnings. Some schools are considering raising coverage limits to double or triple that amount.
This worry isn’t just theoretical. A few years ago, a former NFL player was awarded more than $40 million after arguing that poor care from his team’s doctors ended his career. That case shook the sports medicine world. If something like that happens in college, where players are now making money too, schools and doctors could face the same legal risks.
Medical decisions are getting harder to make. Imagine a player has a muscle injury. The team doctor thinks he needs to rest a bit longer, but the player wants to get back in the game fast to keep up appearances for sponsors or scouts. In the past, coaches or families might’ve been the ones weighing in. Now, agents and business managers are also involved. Everyone has something to lose. That makes treatment decisions less about health and more about dollars.
Some doctors have started ordering more tests—extra MRIs, second opinions, additional consultations—not because they’re unsure of the diagnosis, but because they want to cover themselves. Every decision now feels like a risk. And the relationships that used to exist between players and doctors are changing. It’s harder to build trust when both sides are worried about lawsuits.
Even the old bonds that used to form over a few seasons have weakened. Players don’t stay in one place as long anymore. With the transfer portal, it’s common for athletes to switch schools once or even twice. That means team doctors might only work with someone for a year or less. There’s less time to build trust—and more reasons for everyone involved to second-guess each other.
Doctors have begun talking among themselves about whether this is all worth it. Some are thinking about getting out of college sports altogether. They didn’t sign up to be part of a high-stakes business operation. They signed up to take care of young athletes. When that care gets tangled up in legal threats and financial stakes, it becomes less about medicine and more about protecting oneself.
For now, no major lawsuits have been filed at the college level. But many believe it’s only a matter of time. The money is there, the pressure is high, and all it takes is one case to set a new standard. What happens next may depend on how schools, doctors, and athletes figure out how to balance care, trust, and money in this new era.
Sources:
Team doctors fear greater liability risk in NIL era from wealthy college athletes
In NIL era, team doctors wary of liability with college injuries
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