Kaepernick agrees confidential settlement

COLIN Kaeper n ick, whose k neeling protests spa rked a f irestorm of controversy, has reached a settlement with the NFL over his collusion grievance against t he leag ue, his attorneys said on Friday.

But a confidentiality clause will keep details of the arrangement private, the deal being made ahead of a planned final arbitration hearing on the grievance that was to be heard later this month.

Kaepernick and former San Fra ncisco 49ers tea mmate Eric Reid both f iled a lawsuit against the NFL say ing owners and of f icia ls colluded to keep them off NFL rosters for t hei r dec i sion to ma ke a k neeling protest during t he US anthem.

Reid signed a one-year deal as an injur y replacement last se a son w it h t he Ca rol i na Pa nt hers a nd on Thursday inked a new three-year contract with the same club but Kaepernick has been unemployed since opting out of his contract in March 2017, missing t wo full NFL campaigns.

Kaeper nick, a 31-yea r-old signal ca ller who guided t he 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl, had sa id he was only interested i n a set t lement i f it meant a solid f inancia l deal was reached.

But it could a lso mean that Kaepernick, who has signed a deal with Nike in the wake of being ignored by the NFL for t wo sea sons, mig ht yet return to t he leag ue.

NFL officials denied collusion claims by Kaepernick and Reid despite comments from US President Donald Trump that urged owners to fire any “son of a bitch” who kneeled during the anthem after many NFL players followed Kaepernick’s lead in 2017.

Kaepernick and Reid said they were protesting racial inequality and social injustice. Trump claimed their actions were an insult to the flag, the nation and the military.

A statement released on the Tw it ter account of at tor ney Mark Geragos, t he law f ir m dea l i ng w it h Kaeper n ick ’s lega l action against t he NFL, said the t wo sides have come to terms wit hout indicat ing what those terms were.

“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL,” the Geragos and Geragos firm’s statement said.

“As a result of t hose discussions, t he parties have decided to resolve t he pend i ng grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a conf ident i a l it y a g r e ement s o there will be no further comment by any part y.”

Mark Geragos’s past clients h a v e i nc lude d p op i c on Michael Jack son a nd musician Chris Brown.

NFLPA backs settlement

The NFL Players Associat ion supported t he decision by K a e pe r n ic k a nd Reid despite not k now i ng ex act details of t he sett lement.

“Today, we were informed by the NFL of the settlement of the Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid collusion cases. We are not priv y to t he details of t he set t lement, but suppor t t he decision by t he players and their counsel,” the NFLPA said.

“We continuously supported Coli n a nd Er ic f rom t he st a r t of t hei r protest s, pa rt icipated wit h t heir law yers t hroug hout t hei r lega l proceedings and were prepared to participate in the upcomi ng t r ia l i n pursu it of bot h truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them.

“We are glad t hat Eric has earned a job and a new cont rac t, a nd we cont i nue to hope t hat Col i n get s h i s opportunit y as well.”