Colin Kaepernick Banned From NFL Again, Lands Disney Job

Former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick is heading to Disney.

Kaepernick rose to prominence in the NFL as the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, leading them to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. However, it was his decision to kneel during the national anthem before games in the 2016 season that catapulted him into the national spotlight. Kaepernick shared that his protest was a response to racial injustice, police brutality, and the oppression of Black Americans in the United States, but the act of these protests stirred both support and controversy.

While many athletes, activists, and celebrities rallied behind him, praising his efforts, others criticized him for what they saw as disrespect to the American flag and the military. This controversy led to Kaepernick becoming a free agent in 2017, and he remained unsigned by any NFL team, leading to allegations of collusion from some.

Kaepernick has been given a couple of different tryouts with organizations in the NFL, but nothing has come to fruition. During this time, multiple documentaries and series have come out detailing the life of the former 49ers quarterback and his protests that divided many throughout the country.

Recently, Kaepernick found his way back in the spotlight as he made an unofficial return to football. The former QB was recently announced as a player in EA’s Madden Sports’ Wild Card Football video game, which will feature real-life football players such as Steelers’ T.J. Watt, the Rams’ Aaron Donald, and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts. However, the players will not play on traditional NFL teams but rather on customizable teams in a playground-type setting.

In the midst of Kaepernick’s return in the video game, a report went viral that the quarterback had written a letter to the New York Jets asking for a tryout. The Jets recently saw starting QB Aaron Rodgers go down with a season-ending injury that has led to many fans speculating it could mean the return of Kaepernick. While Kaepernick was hoping for a tryout, there has been no report to indicate that the Jets will be entertaining the quarterback, who has not played at the professional level in more than six years.

While the controversial athlete has essentially been banned from another potential NFL opportunity, there is an upcoming Disney project that will include him in a big way.

It was announced back in 2020 that Disney would be signing a deal with Colin Kaepernick, which would include an ESPN documentary. A couple of years later, it was revealed that Director Spike Lee would play an intricate part in telling the story of Kaepernick for the documentary, but not much else has been revealed on the status of the project.

Lee recently revealed that the Disney documentary had been in production for “over a year,” but its release date still has not been announced.

“There have been false narratives spread about him wanting a higher salary or a guaranteed contract, but all he wants is a shot to try out and prove what he can do,” Lee said in an interview, talking about the documentary.

The multi-part documentary will see the former NFL quarterback provide a full, first-person perspective of his journey. This will include growing up as the mixed-race son of white adoptive parents and his high school football stardom. It will also cover his time at the University of Nevada and with the 49ers and his eventual release. The project will also cover how Kaepernick was eventually blackballed from the NFL after he took a knee during the playing of the national anthem.

This won’t be the first project made about Colin Kaepernick, who saw a drama series titled Colin in Black & White released on Netflix back in 2021. However, there’s no doubt that the ESPN project will be highly marketed ahead of time and that its release will come with a mixture of reactions, including supporters and detractors.