Elway’s Kaepernick comment may hurt NFL
Broncos GM discusses collusion claim with reporter
The collusion case against the National Football League brought by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been shrouded in mystery. Dozens of league executives and owners have been questioned, but their depositions remain confidential.
But John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos, gave a rare glimpse into the thinking of at least one executive who knows why his team has not signed Kaepernick, who became a free agent in March 2017.
Elway told a reporter from
NFL Network he did not sign Kaepernick because the Broncos had offered the quarterback a contract once and he turned the team down.
“Colin had his chance here,” Elway said. “We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it. So, as I said in my deposition, I don’t know if I’ll be legally able to say this, but he’s had his chance to be here. He passed it.”
Elway’s comments come as an NFL-appointed arbitrator weighs a motion by the NFL to throw out the grievance brought by Kaepernick, who accused the NFL of shunning him because he protested inequality and police brutality during the national anthem, sparking protests across the league.
The NFL asked the arbitrator, Stephen B. Burbank, to determine whether the evidence unearthed by Kaepernick’s lawyers was sufficient for the case to go forward.
The NFL is betting that Burbank will say no, and dismiss the case. But if Burbank rules that Kaepernick’s lawyers did indeed gather sufficient evidence for the case to proceed, then a full hearing, in a trial-like setting, would follow.
Elway’s comments could affect that ruling. Burbank may look askance at Elway’s comments because Elway was prohibited from speaking publicly about them while the case is going on.
More curiously, Elway’s comments did not include the fact that he had offered Kaepernick a contract before the 2016 season. The timing is relevant because Kaepernick had not yet begun protesting during the national anthem at that time, and he was set to receive US$12 million from the 49ers. Kaepernick said no to Elway because, in the potential trade, he would have had to take a pay cut to join the Broncos.
Elway’s reasoning that he did not sign Kaepernick when he became a free agent the following year also seems to fall apart in light of the fact that Denver had no trouble signing Brock Osweiler to a minimum-salary deal after he had snubbed Denver to sign a lucrative free-agent deal with the Houston Texans in 2016.
Kaepernick would potentially have accepted similar terms to Osweiler in order to get back onto an NFL roster.
Elway did not say explicitly that he had shunned Kaepernick because he protested during the anthem.
But the reasons he gave for not offering him a free-agent contract could convince Burbank that that, combined with other depositions and documents, is enough for the case to go forward.
A ruling is expected in the next couple of weeks.