One of the notable moments, among many, that came out of a three-night Jay-Z concert series at Yankee Stadium in July involved former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Jay-Z, real name Sean Carter, alluded to Kaepernick during a brief freestyle on night one of his concert in the Bronx.
Kaepernick and Jay-Z have had a fractured public relationship since at least August 2019, when the business mogul’s Roc Nation partnered with the NFL, a move many of the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s supporters at the time thought undermined his kneeling protest and goal to rejoin a NFL roster.
“They run out of characters, had to bring back up (Kaepernick) again. Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him, but along with that check you have to sign a non-disparagement,” Jay-Z rapped about Kaepernick on July 10, referring to a collusion lawsuit against the NFL that the quarterback eventually settled in 2019.
“I’m the one they can’t control,” Jay-Z added.
In a new interview with NBC News released this week, however, Kaepernick delivered a retort to the rapper, including a denial of ever signing a non-disparagement agreement as a result of his settlement with the NFL.
“First and foremost, what it speaks to is power of people,” Kaepernick said about his reaction to the freestyle. “The backlash that (Jay-Z) received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026.”
“People are now realizing, ‘Why are you so comfortable stepping into these positions that are counter to the positions that people on the ground actually want?’” Kaepernick added. “And to me, I view that as speaking to a guilty conscience and trying to reposition or reframe the conversation.”
Shortly before his opening show at Yankee Stadium in July, Jay-Z had been subjected to criticism for partnering with retail store Target on a 30th-anniversary vinyl release of his debut album “Reasonable Doubt.”
Organizers had previously employed boycott movements against Target after the company scrapped DEI initiatives in January 2025, a decision aligning with directives emanating from the administration of president Donald Trump; the president referred to players that knelt during the national anthem to protest as a “son of a bit—h” in 2017.
Kaepernick notably told NBC that his upcoming memoir, “The Perilous Fight,” is not going to be sold at Target, and his book tour will occur in collaboration with the National Association of Black Bookstores.
When Roc Nation and the NFL partnered in 2019, one of the stated goals was to “amplify the Inspire Change platform priority areas identified by NFL Players, including Education and Economic Advancement, Improving Police-Community Relations, and Criminal Justice Reform.” Roc Nation was also placed in charge of running the Super Bowl halftime show and choosing the performers.
However, an indelible Jay-Z quote from a press conference with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to announce the partnership caused a rift with Kaepernick that clearly still exists in 2026.
“You go outside and you protest; and then the company or the individual says, ‘I hear you. What do we do next?'” Jay- Z said in 2019.
The rapper added: “I think we have moved past kneeling. I think it’s time for action. We forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice. In that case, this is a success. This is the next phase.”
With Kaepernick still unsigned, Jay-Z was reportedly among the people that lobbied the NFL to give the quarterback a workout in front of team representatives in November 2019 at the Atlanta Falcons practice facility.
The plan went up in flames on the day of the scheduled workout, though, after Kaepernick would not agree to sign a waiver the NFL wanted his signature on to protect themselves against potential further litigation. Instead, Kaepernick hosted his own workout later that evening at a high school in Atlanta.
The clear distrust between Kaepernick and the NFL was on display in front of the world, and the workout fiasco likely doomed any chance, if there even was one, Kaepernick had of returning to a NFL roster.
“He has built the alignment with the NFL,” Kaepernick told NBC about Jay-Z. “The NFL that has blackballed me, the same NFL that, in a players-owners meeting in 2017, said we need a Black face to help us get rid of the protests.”
“I understand why he’s trying to do reputational recovery,” Kaepernick added. “I get it. I don’t agree with the actions, but I’m also not gonna respond to everything that’s said about me, because I also believe the actions and the work that I do will speak for themselves.”
