Philip Rivers played his first NFL game since January 2021 on Sunday. Steph Chambers / Getty Images
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Philip Rivers made his first regular-season start since December 2020, coming out of retirement to play quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in an 18-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Rivers’ decision means his Hall of Fame candidacy will have to wait, as players do not become eligible until five years after they stop playing. However, the return also does something beneficial for Rivers and his family: It extends his NFL-sponsored health insurance.
As part of a 2006 agreement brokered by the NFL Players Association, players who are on a roster for three seasons receive health insurance for five seasons after retirement. During those five years, retired players are eligible to obtain health and dental insurance for two adults and their qualifying children. Rivers was set to lose those privileges in August.
The 44-year-old and his wife, Tiffany, have 10 children. They are all eligible for the NFL’s insurance plan as dependents until they turn 26. Rivers’ eldest child, Halle, is 23, so she can receive coverage for three more years.
If Rivers retires at the end of the season, he and his family will get health insurance until August 2031. So, although Rivers made a return to pursue individual achievements, he also did something very useful for his big family in the process. That said, the Rivers family would probably be OK financially without the insurance, considering the quarterback made $244.2 million over his 17-year career before his return.
Rivers will get a chance to add to his career tally of 422 touchdown passes when he makes his second start of the season Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Coach Shane Steichen informed reporters that Rivers will get the nod in that game.
When he returns home to Alabama to coach his son Gunner and the St. Michael’s High football team, he can count on his family’s health needs being taken care of.