Yes, professional athletes are employees of their respective team and treated just like any worker under the Georgia workers' compensation system. If they are out of work because of an on the job injury, they are entitled to indemnity benefits, (wage replacement), medical treatment paid for by the insurance carrier at no cost to them and a permanent partial impairment rating when they have reached maximum medical improvement. Furthermore, if they are not able to perform their job because of an on the job injury and subsequently earn less in a new job because of said injury, they may be entitled to permanent partial disability benefits. All workers are entitled to this, not just athletes, but athletes can provide good examples of this. For instance, let's say that a professional basketball player was earning a million dollars a year. During a game, he tears his achilles tendon and is no longer able to play professionally. He subsequently becomes a P.E. coach at the high school where he was a star, earning significantly less. This former professional athlete would be entitled to medical care on his achilles for up to 400 weeks and also temporary partial disability benefits. To calculate disability benefits, subtract his pre-injury wage with his post injury wage and then take two thirds of that. This number is capped at $450.00 as of July 1, 2019. If the professional athlete could be entitled to these benefits for up to 350 weeks from his date of accident forward.