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How Much Money Did Kaepernick Get From NFL Settlement? Report: Far Less Than You’d Think.

   DailyWire.com

Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, along with fellow National Anthem protester safety Eric Reid, settled last month with the NFL for an undisclosed amount over their claims of ideologically driven “collusion” among franchise owners against them. Many fans of the controversial QB declared him the victor in the showdown with the league, but how much money did he actually manage to get out of the league in exchange for agreeing to drop the complaint?

According to The Wall Street Journal, the answer is far less than many expected. Though the exact amount is still unknown, the Journal reports that sources “briefed on the deal” say that Kaepernick and Reid will receive less than $10 million total as a result of the settlement. How much of that sum each of the players will take home is unclear. Part of that payout will likely go to legal fees, and the two players will presumably split the remaining amount, though the percentages of the split are unknown.

In its coverage of the Journal’s report, ESPN provides some perspective on how low the alleged total payout figure is compared to what Kaepernick had been making at San Francisco before he chose to become a free agent: In his final year with the franchise, which he started as the second string QB, Kaepernick was paid $12 million. He may end up receiving less than half of that as a result of the settlement.

Kaepernick filed the grievance back in October 2017, alleging that NFL owners had violated the collective bargaining agreement by “colluding” to keep him out of the league because of his “leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States.” After he chose to be a free agent following San Francisco’s miserable 2016 season, Kaepernick was never offered another contract despite a few teams’ reported flirtations with the idea.

One of the key reasons some analysts believe the league decided to settle was because it would have forced key figures, including some owners and executives, among them Roger Goodell, to be deposed.

Kaepernick prompted the anthem protest movement during preseason of 2016 when he refused to stand during the performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Asked by the press about his decision to sit out the anthem, Kaepernick declared, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” he said. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Kaepernick’s protest of the country began to be imitated by some other players, reaching its peak the following season after President Trump slammed the “son of a b****” players who refuse to honor the flag. Throughout the 2016 season, Kaepernick was a seemingly ubiquitous name in headlines as he continued to promote his protest movement and pushed social justice causes. Among the more controversial of his actions was expressing admiration for communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, which earned the ire of many Miami Dolphins fans, who booed him when he played at their stadium.

While Kaepernick alleges that he has been a victim of collusion, some league executives have said that teams have simply not felt that his mediocre performance on the field is worth the PR headache off the field.

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