Colin Kaepernick has made some immense cultural contributions since he famously took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice. Now, he may be about to reclaim his place in the NFL.
On Wednesday, Kaepernick worked out for the Raiders — his first formal session in almost three years. The 34-year-old hasn’t played professional football since 2016, later alleging in a lawsuit that he was blackballed from the NFL (he settled for an undisclosed sum).
But while he’s stayed busy — raising over $1 million for social justice initiatives, launching an SPAC, and executive producing a Netflix limited series about his life — the financial outlook for an NFL return is anyone’s guess.
- Kaepernick has made $43.5M on the field through his NFL contracts, maxing out at $14.3M in his latest season.
- With six years of league service time, he would be eligible for a minimum salary of just over $1M.
- He was reportedly in talks to join the XFL in 2019 but wanted a $20M salary — unfeasible given the league’s finances.
Kap’s sharpness under center will be the biggest mystery. In 2016, he ranked 30th in YPG (186.8) and 26th in completions (59.2%), but had a sixth-best interception rate (1.2%).
And there’s no guarantee he can even make Josh McDaniels’ squad.
Las Vegas locked in starting QB Derek Carr with a three-year, $121.5 million extension in April — and the team is already carrying two veteran backups in Jarrett Stidham and Nick Mullens.
