Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid reach settlement with NFL in collusion case.
Ex-49ers Kaepernick, Reid make confidential deal with league on collusion charge
Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, who began kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice when they were with the 49ers in 2016, have settled their collusion complaint against the NFL.
The league and the attorneys representing Kaepernick and Reid released a joint statement Friday announcing that the parties had reached an agreement.
“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL,” the statement read. “As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party.”
It’s likely Kaepernick and Reid received a financial settlement in exchange for withdrawing their com-
plaint. Yahoo! Sports reported a final hearing in their case against the NFL, in which final evidence was to be presented before an arbitrator, was scheduled for this month.
Kaepernick led the suit against the NFL in 2017, alleging that the league had colluded against him by not offering him the opportunity to play after his anthem protests prompted national controversy.
Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since he threw 16 touchdown passes, four interceptions and posted a 90.7 quarterback rating in 11 starts with the 49ers in 2016.
Meanwhile, Reid, a 2013 first-round pick with a strong resume, remained on the freeagent market for more than six months last year before he signed a one-year, $1.69 million deal with the Panthers three games into the regular season. In May, during his unemployment, he joined Kaepernick’s collusion grievance.
On Monday, Reid signed a three-year contract worth more than $22 million with the Panthers. Reid, who earned $5.67 million with the 49ers in 2017, said to reporters his new contract provided more proof owners colluded to keep him out of the NFL last year.
“If anything, it proves my point from last year,” Reid said. “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.”
Reid also said he didn’t expect Kaepernick to return to the NFL in the near future.
“Knowing what I know,” he said, “my hope tank is on” (empty).
On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that the new Alliance of American Football — which made its debut last weekend — had spoken with Kaepernick about joining the league. The report said talks broke down when Kaepernick sought at least $20 million to play.
In 2016, numerous players throughout the NFL joined Kaepernick and Reid in kneeling during the national anthem, and their protests became a polarizing issue. Kaepernick was on the cover of Time magazine in October of that year, but the conversation had quieted by the start of the 2017 season when President Trump reignited it by referring to a player who protested as a “son of a bitch.” He urged NFL owners to fire players who knelt.
Two months later, in November 2017, the league reached agreement with a coalition of NFL players to donate $89 million over seven years to various social-justice causes. Reid said he left the group when a member of the coalition, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, asked if he would stop protesting if the NFL donated money.
“I give kudos to the NFL for wanting to step up and help us with regard to systemic oppression,” Reid said. “I question their intent behind it. I personally think they just want the protests to end because it’s affecting their bottom line.”
During Kaepernick’s extended unemployment, a laundry list of quarterbacks who don’t possess his career credentials have been signed by NFL teams.
In 2012, when he made his first 10 career starts, Kaepernick had the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history in his playoff debut, directed the biggest comeback in NFC Championship Game history, and became the only quarterback to pass for 300 yards and rush for 60 in a Super Bowl. In 2013, his first full season as a starter, Kaepernick became the fifth quarterback to have 3,000 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and 500 rushing yards with fewer than 10 interceptions in a season.
His performance dipped in the next two seasons — he was benched after eight starts in 2015 — but he had a resurgence in 2016.
In that season, Kaepernick threw two interceptions in his last 260 attempts. In his penultimate start, a 22-21 road win over the Los Angeles Rams, he had a touchdown run, a touchdown pass and game-winning two-point conversion run in the final 5 minutes, 6 seconds to lead the 49ers to their first 14-point, fourth-quarter comeback since 2004.
Despite his accomplishments, the Seahawks and Ravens are the only NFL teams to publicly express interest in signing Kaepernick since then. In May 2017, Kaepernick visited the Seahawks, who eventually signed Austin Davis. During training camp in 2017, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he’d been in contact with Kaepernick. Baltimore eventually signed Thaddeus Lewis.
Davis and Lewis have combined to throw 18 career touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. Kaepernick has thrown for 72 touchdown with 30 interceptions, and has the second-lowest interception percentage in NFL history.
During his absence from the NFL, Kaepernick, 31, has been embraced by others for his social-justice work and philanthropy. In 2017, he was named GQ’s Citizen of the Year, and he received Sports Illustrated’s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. In October, he received Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Medal.
Last year, Kaepernick signed a deal with Nike and became a prominent face of its “Just Do It” campaign.
In a commercial, Kaepernick, serving as narrator, says: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”