The NFL settled the collusion grievances brought by Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid in February 2019, ending the players’ claim that team owners had conspired to keep them out of the league over their national anthem protests. The deal was confidential, but the Wall Street Journal later reported the total payout was less than $10 million, a figure well below what the players could have recovered at a full hearing. The breakdown between the two men, and how much went to their lawyers, was never disclosed.
What Kaepernick and Reid Were Claiming
Kaepernick began kneeling during the anthem before San Francisco 49ers games in 2016 to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Reid, then his teammate, was the second player to join him. Kaepernick opted out of his contract after the 2016 season and never got another firm offer from any of the league’s 32 teams. Reid, a free agent with a strong playing record, also could not find work.
Kaepernick filed his grievance in October 2017. Reid filed his in May 2018. Both were brought under Article 17, Section 1 of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, which bars clubs from entering into any agreement, express or implied, to restrict player negotiations, contract offers, or terms of employment.
To win, the players had to show by a “clear preponderance of the evidence” that at least two teams reached a conscious commitment to a common scheme to freeze them out. Being unsigned was not enough on its own. They needed direct or circumstantial proof of a meeting of the minds among owners or league officials.
The financial stakes were high. If the arbitrator found collusion, the CBA required compensatory damages to be doubled for a first offense and tripled for a second.
Why the Case Was Dangerous for the NFL
The grievance was assigned to Stephen B. Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor serving as the NFL’s System Arbitrator. Under the CBA, the parties were entitled to “reasonable and expedited discovery,” and the Federal Rules of Evidence applied. That gave the players real access to the league’s internal communications.
Several owners were called for depositions and required to turn over cellphone records and emails related to Kaepernick. Reporting from November 2017 identified five owners targeted for depositions based on their public statements about Kaepernick or the protests:
- Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys
- Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots
- Bob McNair of the Houston Texans
- Paul Allen of the Seattle Seahawks
- Jed York of the San Francisco 49ers
In August 2018, Burbank denied the NFL’s motion to dismiss Kaepernick’s complaint, ruling there was enough evidence to send the case to a full hearing. Sports reporters who spoke with sources close to the case described the discovery material as “very embarrassing” to the league, with one columnist speculating it included “careless emails exchanged between team owners.”
The Settlement and Its Reported Value
On February 15, 2019, the NFL and counsel for both players announced they had resolved the pending grievances. The joint statement, issued by the league and attorneys Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas of Geragos & Geragos, said: “The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party.”
The NFL Players Association said it was “not privy to the details of the settlement” but supported the players’ decision, adding it had been “prepared to participate in the upcoming trial in pursuit of both truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them.”
About five weeks later, the Wall Street Journal reported the total payout was less than $10 million, citing people briefed on the deal. That was far less than the tens of millions Kaepernick alone could have been owed had the arbitrator found collusion and applied the CBA’s damages multiplier. The reported figure may have reflected uncertainty over Kaepernick’s market value during the seasons he went unsigned, since the league would have argued his earning potential was limited regardless of any coordinated effort, along with the inherent risk to both sides of pushing through to a hearing.
What Happened to Kaepernick and Reid After Settling
Reid had already returned to the field before the settlement was signed. He joined the Carolina Panthers in September 2018, continued to kneel during games that season, and later signed a three-year extension. He pointed to that contract as evidence teams had been avoiding him for non-football reasons: “I didn’t sign until the fourth week and did for almost the league minimum. And this year I signed a more substantial contract. And nothing has changed. I’m still the same player.” The Panthers released him on March 18, 2020, and no reports indicate he signed with another team.
Kaepernick never returned to the NFL. In November 2019, the league organized a private workout for him at the Atlanta Falcons’ training facility, with representatives from roughly 25 teams invited. About fifteen minutes before it was scheduled to begin, Kaepernick’s camp moved the session to a high school in Riverdale, Georgia, about 60 miles away, citing the NFL’s refusal to allow media and his own film crew to record the workout and an unusual liability waiver his representatives said could have shielded the league from future legal action. Only a handful of scouts followed. His agent, Jeff Nalley, said no team had requested the workout and called it a “manufactured event.” No contract offer followed.
Kaepernick has since worked in media, publishing, and advocacy, including the 2021 Netflix docudrama Colin in Black & White, a production deal with Disney and ESPN, and the nonprofit Know Your Rights Camp. As late as early 2022 he was still organizing pop-up workouts to attract an NFL contract, but none came.
The League’s Later Shift on Social Justice
The NFL’s public position on the issues Kaepernick raised changed after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video statement saying the league was “wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier” and declared that “Black lives matter.” On June 11, 2020, the NFL announced a $250 million, ten-year commitment to combat systemic racism, targeting criminal justice reform, police reform, and economic and educational advancement. A source familiar with the program told NFL.com, “We wouldn’t be where we are today without the work Colin and other players have led off.”
By September 2021, the league reported it had distributed roughly $160 million, including over $90 million in 2020, and expected to surpass the $250 million target before the original 2027 deadline. Goodell’s encouragement for teams to sign Kaepernick in 2020 went unheeded.