Although Colin Kaepernick has completed just over 59 percent of his passes since 2015, that isn’t stopping the NFL free agent of the NFL from asking for some hefty compensation from the team that decides to sign him, which may explain why he is still a free agent. According to NJ, Kaepernick believes he is worth nine to ten million dollars to sign, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.
“Further, we know from multiple sources that Kaepernick isn’t just looking for any job. Two people to whom I spoke last week say he’s looking for a place that offers him a chance to compete for a starting job and a salary befitting a high-end backup quarterback or a low-end starter. Think something like $9 million to $10 million.”
However, rumors continue to circulate that the NFL is blackballing Kaepernick, whose hard partying and poor performance on the field, as well as kneeling during the national anthem last year, has earned him a bit of infamy. According to The Mercury News, Richard Sherman is one of many who believes that the NFL is blackballing Colin Kaepernick purposefully. He believes it is due to Kaepernick’s protest of the National Anthem last season.
“It has nothing to do with football. He would be a starter on probably 20 of the teams in this league.”
[Image by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.]
Not everyone agrees with Sherman’s assessment. Ravens coach John Harbaugh says it’s “stupid” and “intellectually lazy” to say that Kaepernick is being blackballed by the NFL, according to Mercury News. He also believes that Kaepernick will be signed by a team, and the reasons for him not being signed thus far have nothing to do with his social justice stance.
“I absolutely think he’s going to get signed. I agree with (my brother) Jim (Harbaugh). He can win games for people.”
In August, when Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem, he stated he was prepared for a heavy backlash from fans and the public, which has included President Donald Trump, according to Mercury News.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t want to have this conversation, they’re scared they might lose their job or they might not get the endorsements…and those are things I’m prepared to handle and those are things that other people might not be ready for. I’ve been blessed …But I can’t look in the mirror and see other people dying in the street that should have the same opportunities that I’ve had and say, you know what, I can live with myself.”
“There was an article today that NFL owners don’t want to pick him up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag, right?”
[Image by Getty Images/Thearon W. Henderson]
Kaepernick is active on social media, but he rarely mentions football. He has been active in giving large sums of money to various charities, so he has backed up his words about his feelings about the plight of underprivileged in the United States’ current socioeconomic climate. The jury is still out on whether Kaepernick will remain unemployed this season and what the reasons for that unemployment may be. Is he being blackballed by everyone from the NFL to President Donald Trump, or is his asking price, based on his past performance on the field, too high? His conditions include a chance to start and an asking price that is more than the contracts free agent quarterbacks Josh McCown and Brian Hoyer got this month.
Some teams, like the Seahawks and the Panthers, may offer Kaepernick a place to be a backup, but that would defy his conditions of having a chance to start. Based on his reputation and performance, there are not many places that would offer him the chance to start. If Colin Kaepernick wishes to salvage his career, he may have to settle for a backup position at a backup salary.
[Featured Image by Syzczerbowski/Getty Images]
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