Colin Kaepernick recently appeared on the popular podcast “All The Smoke,” which is broadcast on the DraftKings Network. The former NFL quarterback sat down with hosts and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson for a lengthy episode aired on September 17, 2026, as part of Kaepernick’s media tour for his newly released memoir, “The Perilous Fight.”
During the interview, Kaepernick covered many different topics, including his relationship with Jay-Z and his “fake” 2019 workout, which he labeled a “legal trap” designed by the league. A dog and pony show orchestrated to dismiss any notion that the NFL was colluding to keep him out because his peaceful protests against police brutality and racial injustice became a major political lightning rod that team owners were unwilling to buy into.
Colin Kaepernick Says He Was Blackballed By NFL
During the interview, Kaepernick was not hesitant in calling the NFL out for blackballing him from the league. Kaepernick had strong support from historically oppressed communities, who respected and supported his efforts. However, many NFL fans chose to misinterpret his act of awareness as disrespectful to the American flag and military personnel, sparking an uncontrollable national controversy, putting pressure on the league and pitting fans and owners against players.
“For me, with the NFL blackballing me, my course of action is to file a grievance, which is essentially litigation against the NFL under that agreement,” Kaepernick told the hosts. “You go through an arbitration process as part of that, these are things that I had to learn along the way, everything is confidential as part of that process from the time you enter it.”
“I thought we would be able to expose all the documentation, all that. That was not the case. But your course of action to be able to be restored is filing a grievance. Ultimately, as part of that process, we reached a settlement. The settlement is trying to recover wages, and that’s really your course of action because of how the collective bargaining agreement was negotiated,” he explained.
The 38-year-old said he has not been gagged by the league:
“As part of that settlement, I can still pursue my career. I can still speak openly or freely and say what I want about the NFL. So there’s no signing my rights away in that regard. At that point, the NFL’s actions were irregular, that they were colluding against me. Them denying me a contract, we quantified and try to recover as part of that.”
There were also many opinions about why Kaepernick took the NFL’s settlement instead of continuing to fight to get back into the league. Push to further prove the blackballing. Some even accused him of selling out, while praising Jay-Z for cutting a deal with the NFL and announcing “we’ve most past kneeling.”
NFL Teams Continue To Prove Blackballing Kaepernick Supersedes Winning
Kaepernick Says He Never Sold The Movement Out For An NFL Check
Kaepernick says his NFL settlement was meant to recover lost wages after being blackballed cost him over $150 million while allowing him to keep pursuing his career without undermining the protest.
“Now what that equates to is losing approximately $150-plus million,” Kaepernick continued. “But that trying to be positioned in the same light as cutting a deal directly with the NFL to undermine the protest is where that becomes a nefarious positioning to try to justify the action”
While most people with eyes and a brain could see that Kaepernick was being kept out of the league on purpose, others bought into the narrative that he was “washed up” despite coming off a 2016 season where he threw for 16 TDs and just four picks in 12 games, just three years after he threw for 302 yards in a close Super Bowl XLVII loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Why Was Colin Kaepernick Taking a Knee?
During the 2016 NFL preseason, Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers QB began sitting, and later kneeling, during pregame performances of the national anthem. His objective was to draw attention to systemic racism, police brutality, and social injustices in the United States. At the time, images of Black faces getting killed by white police officers filled social media and the network news shows. This raised level of national consciousness led to more kneeling, from the grassroots level up through pro sports.
Fans Still Passionate & Divided About Colin Kaepernick
A decade after the controversy Kaepernick is telling his side of the story in a book and fans still have an opinion.
“He didn’t lose $150 million, because he was not in position to earn that much money. Terms of the settlement have never been disclosed. The NDA just expired, this is why his book is coming out and he’s doing these interviews saying a whole bunch of nothing. His entire significance is rooted in something that happened 10 years ago. This guy is by definition, a loser,” one user commented under an X post of Kaepernick’s “All The Smoke” interview.
“Colin had one and a half great seasons. They gave him a 6 year deal in 2014, got benched in 2015 and decided to mount a protest in 2016. Then this idiot opted out of that deal See yah!” another quipped.
“This isn’t racism, it’s ego. He’s half black, raised by loving white parents from Wisconsin. He’s always been privileged, and he’s a multi multi-millionaire celebrity, and wants you to know that he is a *victim* As a Niners fan, this is a solemn request: just ignore Kaep,” one more naysayer said.
One fan defended the backlash against Kaepernick, saying “he’s right. Don’t believe the slander people use on him ……they fuc–d him over and they know it”
Colin Kaepernick Divide Is Still As Strong Today As It Ever Was
Most would probably prefer to forget that contentious, racially charged time. It was a bad look for the NFL and the league will never be able to shake the fact that they “blackballed” Colin Kaepernick and alienated an entire population of football fans because he stood for something that could affect the owners’ bottom line.
