Kaepernick Lands $1 Million Book Deal–Details Unclear

Colin Kaepernick No.7 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before the game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on Oct. 16, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Colin Kaepernick landed a $1 million deal. But it’s not with an NFL team.

According to NBC’s ProFootballTalk, Kaepernick signed a book deal for more than $1 million, but the details of the book’s content and other specifics are not yet clear. According to The New York Post, he inked a deal with Random House’s One World, which has also published Jay-Z and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Kaepernick began kneeling for the national anthem last season in a protest he said was to combat racial injustice and police brutality. A number of other players followed his lead, but the issue really came into the limelight last month when President Donald Trump said that players who don’t stand for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” should be fired.

Kaepernick hasn’t been able to get signed to an NFL team this season after he opted out of his San Francisco 49ers contract earlier in 2017.

The Post reported that the quarterback had been seen “taking meetings with publishers in the New York offices of WME” with a book to sell.

Random House, One World, and Kaepernick have not issued comments on the matter.

Earlier in the month, Kaepernick filed a grievance against NFL team owners for collusion, claiming they’ve tried to “deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick’s leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice,” ESPN reported.

“Colin Kaepernick’s goal has always been, and remains, to simply be treated fairly by the league he performed at the highest level for and to return to the football playing field,” a statement from his lawyer said.

Jed York, the CEO of the 49ers, his former team, told ESPN that he doesn’t believe “there’s base to that claim that he’s being blackballed” from playing in the NFL.