Elway deposed in Kaepernick collusion case, report says

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was at the Broncos’ Dove Valley headquarters on Tuesday, but he wasn’t there to talk about a potential new contract.

Kaepernick was in attendance for Broncos GM John Elway’s hour-long deposition in the former 49ers quarterback’s collusion case against the NFL, according to a report by 9NEWS, citing an unnamed source.

Kaepernick, who has been out of the NFL since the end of the 2016 season, filed a grievance in October accusing NFL teams of improperly colluding to keep him out of the league. Lawyers for the NFL and the NFL Players Union were also in attendance Tuesday, 9NEWS reported.

The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union prohibits teams from conspiring to make decisions about signing a player. But the CBA also says the mere fact that a player is unsigned and evidence about the player’s qualifications to be on an NFL roster do not constitute proof of collusion.

In the offseason leading up to the 2016 season, Elway attempted to acquire Kaepernick from the 49ers, but Kaepernick turned down the deal when he refused to take a substantial pay cut.

After remaining in San Francisco, Kaepernick began his protest during the national anthem that preseason. Kaepernick sat and then later kneeled during the anthem to instigate change and challenge authority when it comes to race relations. According to the 9NEWS report, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh, Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll and NFL owners Stephen Ross and Bob McNair have also given depositions in the case.