
The latest innovation for Woj as St. Bonaventure GM: Insurance
SAN ANTONIO — Six months into his new life, Adrian Wojnarowski plugged in his phone and set it face down on the floor of a hotel conference room. It would stay that way for more than 30 minutes, buzzing alone, untouched.
Back in the fall, Wojnarowski — widely and colloquially known as Woj — traded an attachment to his phone as a preeminent NBA news-breaker for an even deeper attachment to his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University in western New York, where he became the general manager of the men's basketball team. He was at the Final Four this past week to help the program in ways normal and not. Sure, he mingled with coaches, spoke at a conference, talked hoops over dinner. But he also took dozens of photos with fans, signed memorabilia for future auctions and squeezed in a mini press tour.
Little is normal about what St. Bonaventure is trying to do with its mid-major resources. And little is normal about having a GM with 6.4 million followers on X who became famous for his reporting with ESPN.
'I'm trying to get high-major players for mid-major money,' Wojnarowski said in an interview Saturday, his first season finished, his first transfer portal cycle almost wrapped, too. The Bonnies went 22-12, including 9-9 in the Atlantic 10 (good for seventh out of 15 teams). But in the past month, two desired big men — Frank Mitchell and Joe Grahovac — committed to the program, something that might have seemed impossible before Wojnarowski arrived.
Mitchell, who has signed with the Bonnies, played at Canisius and Minnesota. Grahovac, a 6-foot-10 redhead from Fullerton College, a junior college in California, is expected to sign next week. To close the gap between what St. Bonaventure and what most other programs can offer in name, image and likeness (NIL) money, Wojnarowski has been creative. In the fall, at least one rep from every NBA team will attend a practice on campus, his way of tapping connections to promote the players to pro evaluators. Beyond that, he gives a hard sell for longtime coach Mark Schmidt, who he said is at a Hall of Fame level. St. Bonaventure also is using insurance policies.
Yes, insurance policies.
Division I sports are amid a period of rapid, uncertain change. That Wojnarowski is the Bonnies' GM is one example. Another is that he used insurance policies to build next year's roster. All of it is done through a company called Players Health. The insurance works in two ways: First, the Bonnies will have critical injury insurance for their entire payroll in 2025-26. And second, depending on the player and contract, the team has insurance policies on performance incentives, allowing the Bonnies to offer more money than they actually have to spend.
This is all new for college hoops. In Wojnarowski's first year, St. Bonaventure, like all programs, relied solely on donors and other third-party deals to pay its players. Soon, though, pending a major legal settlement, schools could be permitted to pay athletes directly for the first time. But whatever the situation is moving forward, Wojnarowski believes insurance is an edge for his mid-major team.
With the critical injury insurance, the Bonnies can sign players to contracts that aren't fully guaranteed to be paid by the school. If a player is injured and misses a certain amount of time, a bulk of his agreed-upon salary would be paid out by the insurance policy, meaning the Bonnies would save some cash for a future roster.
With the insurance on performance incentives, think of this way: If Wojnarowski is going for a player and another school is offering $10,000 more — $10,000 the Bonnies don't have — he can offer $10,000 in insured performance incentives to make up the difference. Maybe the premium, paid to Players Health, is $1,000. But if the player is first-team all-A-10, he could make that $10,000 in incentives, all paid out by the insurance policy. The school would have bet the $1,000 premium to land him. The insurer would have bet, too, seeing as it would have collected the $1,000 premium if the player didn't reach the incentive.
Everyone is hedging and calculating what's worth it. Wojnarowski believes that, more than anything, the incentives helped close the deal on players who want to find a reason to pick St. Bonaventure. As for what the incentives are for, he said it ranges from individual accolades (all-defense teams, newcomer of the year, etc.) to team success (a certain number of wins, making the NCAA tournament, etc.). The Bonnies are not doing stat-based incentives, wanting to avoid a player pushing himself through injury or going outside the system for numbers. Plus, he doesn't think that would be within the rules. Overall, he said, these insured incentives have been a major factor in recruiting and retaining players in this cycle.
'The third one that I'm fascinated by, and I don't have the money yet to invest in it, is [transfer] portal insurance,' Wojnarowski said, 'where you would pay a premium, probably a higher premium … [to] protect yourself against the player leaving in the portal, to be able to get back that player's money.'
Now for a critical wrinkle: As of this week, Wojnarowski is a brand ambassador for Players Health and a member of its NIL advisory board. That means he'll promote the company and its college sports services. In turn, there are significant benefits for the Bonnies, including that Players Health will cover all of the critical injury insurance policies for next year's roster and payroll. And whenever he brings a new program to the company, Players Health will pay a referral fee to St. Bonaventure's NIL collective, the booster group that has funded any salaries to this point.
This is the Woj Effect at work. Before the season, Schmidt, the Bonnies' coach, said that in the 24 hours after Wojnarowski announced his career change, the program got the most exposure it will in the next 50 years. To raise NIL money, the Bonnies recently auctioned off some of his old work phones. (The one he used in March 2020 to report that the NBA had suspended play early in the coronavirus pandemic sold for $3,250.) His partnership with Players Health is in that vein, though it could double as a competitive advantage. And the partnership also explains why he's being so open about a new team-building strategy.
'Even though I'm sharing it with people in our own league, that creates a stream of revenue,' Wojnarowski said. 'I'm willing to live with that because I need that revenue in a really difficult climate for us. So I'm trying to be as creative as I can be with a lot of these marketing deals.
'I made a decision when I came back that I'm going to try to parlay my whatever it is to fund our team,' he continued. 'This is another way for me to do it.'
Whatever it is is what the rest of us would just call fame.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Knicks Requests to Interview 2 Rival Head Coaches Rejected
Knicks Requests to Interview 2 Rival Head Coaches Rejected originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The New York Knicks' overtures to speak with the head coaches of two rival playoff squads have been rejected. Advertisement New York recently relieved five-year head coach Tom Thibodeau of his duties, after he had led the club to its most successful season in a quarter century, a 51-win stint that ended in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals defeat to the Indiana Pacers. Under Thibodeau, the Knicks posted an impressive 226-174 regular season record, making the playoffs in four of their five seasons. Thibodeau's Knicks squads went 24-23 in the playoffs, and won four playoff series, amidst consistent roster churn. Just prior to training camp this season, New York imported five-time All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, after having added All-Defensive Team swingman Mikal Bridges earlier in the 2024 offseason. Advertisement Thibodeau leaned heavily on his starting five during the 2024-25 regular season, before finally expanding his rotation during the postseason. Some critical fans — and, fatally, Knicks decision makers in the front office and ownership group — grew frustrated with the 67-year-old Thibodeau's perceived overreliance on a finite rotation. Still, Thibodeau got a lot out of his squads, and helped raise the ceiling of a franchise that had struggled to enjoy consistent success this century prior to his arrival. Brad Penner-Imagn Images Now, it appears that the Knicks are aiming to make a splash with their next hire, targeting a few head coaches currently on long-term deals with playoff teams. Advertisement Sources inform Shams Charania of ESPN that New York asked to interview with Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch about their new head coaching vacancy. Finch, 55, has been serving as Minnesota's head coach since midway through All-NBA superstar shooting guard Anthony Edwards' 2020-21 rookie season. He boasts a 209-160 overall regular season record, and a 21-21 playoff record. Finch has guided the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two postseasons. Udoka, 47, has been in Houston since 2023. He owns a 93-71 regular season record with the Rockets and led the franchise to its first playoff stint this spring, a seven-game first series loss to the Golden State Warriors. Advertisement During his one-and-done season coaching the Boston Celtics, Udoka in 2021-22, Udoka guided Boston to a 51-31 record and an NBA Finals berth... where the Celtics fell to the Warriors. Provided Udoka doesn't have to play Golden State in the postseason, he seems to have plenty of upside on the hardwood. Charania adds that the Knicks have yet to reach out to ex-New York point guard Jason Kidd, currently the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas would apparently reject an interview request, however. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mwenentanda eager for opportunity with Vanderbilt
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda is a former Washington high school standout, who just made a run to the Final Four with Texas. Now, she's on the move to another SEC School. Ndjakalenga played three season with the Texas Longhorns, appearing in 37 games this past year as a junior. She started in 15 games, including the Final Four contest against South Carolina. 'I love Texas and I got what I needed out of Texas. I got my degree,' Mwenentanda said. 'I just wanted something different.' Mwenentanda entered the transfer portal following her junior season. 35 teams reached out to her, but she had to picky, knowing she has just one year of eligibility left. 'Being a part of some rebuilding process wouldn't have allowed me enough time. I had to look at the options that were the best fit for me, as far as teams that were a little bit more established,' Mwenentanda said. Another factor in Ndjakalenga's decision was the ability to help fill her goals, which include playing basketball beyond college. 'The goal is to play pro basketball and that's why I entered to portal, to see where I can best take that stepping stone to achieve my goal of playing basketball,' Mwenentanda said. Her decision brought her to the Music City of Nashville, becoming the newest player for Vanderbilt. 'There are a lot of girls on the team that want to go pro. I know, being in a final four atmosphere, you've got to have everybody that really wants it,' Mwenentanda said. 'Those who are willing to sacrifice and put time towards the same goal.' While Ndjakalenga is taking her talents to Vandy, her heart will always be in South Dakota, a state providing plenty of support for the Sioux Falls native. 'I grew up in Sioux Falls and I've still got friends I keep in touch with. I keep in touch with Parish over at Washington as well,' Mwenentanda said. 'I think Sioux Falls definitely has a permanent place in my heart, because of what it has provided me.' Mwenentanda will make some trips back and forth to Nashville throughout the summer as she gets ready for the basketball season later this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Michael Cooper believes Magic Johnson deserved the Finals MVP over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1985 Finals: "I'm sure he wanted those"
Michael Cooper believes Magic Johnson deserved the Finals MVP over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1985 Finals: "I'm sure he wanted those" originally appeared on Basketball Network. In the NBA, the spotlight doesn't always land on the team's certified No. 1 option when it comes to their biggest triumphs. Advertisement A perfect example of this could be seen in the Boston Celtics' 2024 title victory, where Jaylen Brown was awarded the Finals MVP over Jayson Tatum. Similarly, in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, it was Pascal Siakam who walked away with the MVP honor over Tyrese Haliburton. For Michael Cooper, such scenarios bring back memories of his own experience with the Los Angeles Lakers, especially during the 1985 NBA Finals. As, according to the former Defensive Player of the Year, it was Magic Johnson who truly carried the team on and off the court, but it was eventually Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who walked away with the Finals MVP honor. Cooper explained why Magic deserved the '85 Finals MVP award over Kareem A 37-year-old "Cap" was statistically the Lakers' best player during the 1985 NBA Finals when they beat their arch-rivals Boston Celtics, averaging a team-high 25.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists over six games. However, for Coop, Johnson's leadership was the ultimate x-factor for the Showtime Lakers. Advertisement Speaking on his podcast, the 69-year-old former shooting guard recalled how while Kareem might be prejudged as the team's anchor in terms of production, it was Magic who orchestrated the offense and encouraged all the players to find their rhythm, especially after dropping the series opener by 34 points. Moreover, Cooper understood that given that Abdul-Jabbar was in the last leg of his career, the emotional sentiment motivated everyone to crown him the Finals MVP, which made everyone conveniently overlook the fact that the team's point guard had averaged 18.3 points and a staggering 14.0 assists while playing the most minutes for the team in that series. "Magic was very pivotal in the room and for the entire series because he was the one that was firing us up, getting us ready to go. Kareem was a player that you didn't have to talk to much in the locker room. He was reading a newspaper or (was) in his own world," Cooper recalled the behind-the-scenes talks. "Magic was never about individual accolades, although I'm pretty sure he wanted those. We all do, but Magic was about the bottom line, 'How many championships?'... What you don't know is Magic was always in Kareem's ears and fed him the ball constantly," Cooper concluded. Advertisement Related: "He said, 'You the guy that broke all my records in high school, right?" - Shawn Kemp on the time Larry Bird told him exactly what he was going to do before scoring 40 points Magic made sure to bring out the best in Kareem When looking back on Kareem's illustrious resume, which contains six championships and six MVPs, it's impressive how he attained individual as well as team success so thoroughly. There's no denying that his dominance redefined the center position and earned him well-deserved accolades. But as Mike pointed out, without Magic's unselfish play and leadership, some of those titles might not have materialized. In 1980, for example, a young Magic stepped up when Kareem was injured. In the 1982 playoffs, Kareem averaged just 20.4 points, but it was Johnson again who fueled the Lakers' title run. Advertisement Even in 1987 and 1988, during Kareem's final championship runs, he averaged just 16.6 points across those two postseasons, while Magic continued to steer the ship and helped him add more silverware to his resume. Safe to say, had it not been for Magic, who knows, without those Larry O'Brien trophies, many would have found flaws in Abdud-Jabbar's legacy as well. Thankfully, Abdul-Jabbar had a teammate from Michigan who did everything to enrich his name in the basketball lore, and Coop recognized it fully. Related: "It was easy, beautiful basketball" - The moment Spencer Haywood realized what a genius Magic Johnson was This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.