Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

As mentioned in the roundup, Joel Embiid’s much-hyped second foot surgery will finally be taking place tomorrow. He’ll miss the entire upcoming season. Over his first two inactive seasons, he’ll earn roughly $9 million from the Sixers… and they’ll be on the hook for all of it. According to ESPN, Embiid’s contract is insured, but his foot is not:

Although Embiid’s contract is insured, since it is among the five highest salaries on the team, sources say Embiid’s right foot was excluded from the policy because it was a pre-existing injury. Embiid first had surgery on the foot the week before the 2014 NBA draft, in which he was taken by the 76ers with the third pick.

If JoJo’s foot was included in the insurance policy, $5.4 million of Embiid’s roughly $9 million salary would be coming back to the Sixers [editor’s note: like Bynum– whose injury was covered by insurance]. Instead, like with your crappy insurance you had to buy yourself [editor’s note: …], that’s all coming out-of-pocket.

But ESPN points out another super-interesting Embiid-related insurance tidbit:

One policy that didn’t exclude Embiid’s right foot was a permanent total disability policy the center signed in November 2013 while at the University of Kansas. A source familiar with the policy said Embiid first could collect a tax-free $5 million if he calls it quits three years after signing the policy — November 2016 — and can always collect as long as he doesn’t play 20 NBA games.

It’s (hopefully) unlikely Embiid will never play 20 NBA games, and less likely he’ll just call it a day next November, but that is gonna really fuel some conspiracy theories.