NFL says it will honor Kendrick Norton's insurance policy after arm amputation
Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Kendrick Norton’s NFL career is over after a car accident resulted in his left arm having to be amputated at the scene.
The 22-year-old remains hospitalized but in stable condition since the incident late Wednesday night. A GoFundMe was set up to support Norton with his medical bills, which turned out to be unnecessary when the NFL gave some good news to Norton’s agent.
From a GoFundMe update:
The NFL reached out to Kendrick this morning to let him know that all of his medical costs will be covered. This is great news, but with his career over and no source of income currently, this has put a tremendous amount of financial strain on Kendrick and his family. Any continued support is appreciated. Thank you all.
Of course, as ESPN noted, Norton’s medical bills are being covered by the NFL’s and the Dolphins’ insurance policy, something all players benefit from. So the NFL isn’t going out of its way to help Norton so much as it’s letting a safety net for players help him.
The GoFundMe has since been re-purposed to help Norton in his life after football, and has raised more than $10,000 as of Tuesday.
Norton’s agent Malki Kawa also thanked the Dolphins’ players and leadership for the report and noted that the player was undergoing another surgery.
The support from phins gm Chris Grier, hc Brian Flores, the Miami Dolphins players, UM coach Manny Diaz, and Kendrick’s former teammates is so appreciated. He’s currently undergoing another surgery but we’re almost there. #pray4bignort
Thank you for the prayers and support.— malki kawa (@malkikawa) July 9, 2019
Going forward, the hope is that Norton will be able to receive a prosthetic arm. ESPN reports that one route the Dolphins can take to support the defensive tackle is placing him on the non-football injury list for 2019, which would let them pay all or part of his non-guaranteed $495,000 salary.
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