Superstar athletes like Alex Rodriguez, who makes $27,000,000 per season playing baseball for the New York Yankees, are assets far too valuable to leave uninsured. When a player gets injured and misses games, he or she continues to receive a paycheck--it's the team that is left footing the bill for lost revenue.

That's why professional teams shell out big bucks to insure the health of their players.

When a star player misses significant time, team performance usually declines, ticket sales sag, apparel declines--all of which cost the team money. If a franchise athlete like LeBron James or Peyton Manning goes down, it could cost the team millions of dollars in losses.

In the United States, insurance policies for professional athletes cost roughly 2 to 3 percent of the athlete's salary. Factors that contribute to insurance premiums include the sport, player's age, and history of injury. In the case of A-Rod, the annual insurance premium could top $800,000.

But insurance policies aren't exclusive to sports franchises. Insurance is sometimes purchased by athletes themselves, usually to insure their future earnings, including loss of endorsements and the additional cost of marketing themselves while injured.

So when Kobe Bryant breaks your favorite player's ankles on a strong drive to the basket, don't lose too much sleep over it--he's probably got insurance.