The quarterback’s silent kneeling during the national anthem at NFL games to protest police brutality—an action that led to his effective ouster from the league in 2016—made headlines once more in October 2021, as emails from disgraced former Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden revealed that he’d privately badmouthed Kaepernick’s stance. “They suspend people for taking amino acids, they should cut this f**k,” Gruden reportedly wrote about Kaepernick. Soon after his emails, rife with homophobic and racist language, were revealed, Gruden resigned from his Raiders post. Gruden’s bigoted ramblings come just as Kaepernick’s latest project, Colin In Black And White, a miniseries based on his life, will drop on Netflix, further driving home the importance of Kaepernick’s presence and message. And while Kap is happy to venture into show business (through his production company, Ra Vision Media) and other professional opportunities, he’s also keeping himself ready for a future chance at returning to the football field. “I am still up at 5 a.m. training five, six days a week making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again. That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of 32 teams and their partners to deny me employment,” he told Ebony ahead of the Colin in Black and White premiere. “The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way I’m gonna be persistent here.” From the NFL to Netflix, Nike, and beyond, persistency has clearly been the key to Kap’s success. Keeping reading to find out Colin Kaepernick’s net worth and how he earned it—plus, how he spends it on causes close to his heart.
What is Colin Kaepernick’s net worth?
Colin Kaepernick’s net worth is estimated at $20 million.
What is Colin Kaepernick known for?
Kaepernick is one of the most celebrated athletes of his generation. Adopted as a baby by a white family who’d lost two sons to heart defects, Kaepernick, who identifies as biracial, became a star in 2011 when he joined the San Francisco 49ers. He was famous for kissing his heavily tattooed biceps on the field, and he said as early as 2013 that he wanted to be a positive role model. “I want to have a positive influence as much as I can. I’ve had people write me because of my tattoos. I’ve had people write me because of adoption. I’ve had people write me because they’re biracial. I’ve had people write me because their kids have heart defects—my mom had two boys who died of heart defects, which ultimately brought about my adoption,” he told Sports Illustrated. “So, to me, the more people you can touch, the more people you can influence in a positive way or inspire, the better.” Though he’s best known for being an NFL quarterback, Kaepernick was also scouted to play Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs while he was in college at the University of Nevada. He turned down the offer to continue studying and playing football. Kaepernick graduated with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in business management in 2011, and he began playing for the San Francisco 49ers the same year. Perhaps even more than his on-field skills, Kaepernick is famous for his activism—which started silently. In 2016, Kaepernick began kneeling quietly during the playing of the national anthem before games as a means of protestingpolice brutality against the Black Americans and communities of color—namely, after the police killings of PhilandoCastile and AltonSterling, as well as the acquittal of the police officers involved in the death of FreddieGray. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL.com in August 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” He added that he didn’t seek permission from his team nor his sponsors to protest, explaining, “This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.” Kaepernick and former teammate Eric Reid, who often knelt with him, each became free agents in 2017, leading to widespread rumors they were blackballed due to their activism; Kaepernick hasn’t been picked up by any teams since. That October, Kaepernick and Reid each filed grievances against the NFL, alleging collusion among owners of the league. In February 2019, a confidential settlement was reached between all parties. Later that year, Kaepernick held open workouts for eight different NFL teams, explaining to Vogue that if the NFL didn’t sign him again, “You’re gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way. And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won’t be because I’m not ready or not prepared. But in that process, I’m also not gonna let you bury my future. I’m gonna continue to do work on the acting and producing side, continue to do the work with Know Your Rights, and make sure we are having an impact. I think that’s the beauty of us collectively—we are not one-dimensional.” The league has since, at least publicly, embraced some of the racial justice ideals that Kaepernick has espoused, including playing the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” before games.
What is Colin Kaepernick doing now?
Since leaving the NFL, Kaepernick has kept quite busy. In February 2020, it was revealed that Kaepernick was not only working on a memoir, he was also launching his own publishing company. He said in a statement to The New York Times, “I want to tell the story of my evolution, and the events that led me to protest systemic oppression, in hopes that it will inspire others to rise in action.” He said the book would tell the stories of “the life experiences that led him to risk his career as a star NFL Super Bowl quarterback in one silent act of protest.” He is also the subject of Colin In Black and White, helmed by director Ava DuVernay. The series will focus on Kaepernick’s life, with Jaden Michael starring as the NFL alum and Nick Offermanand Mary-Louise Parker as his parents. Kaepernick will serve as a narrator on the show, as well as a writer and executive producer. “I’m excited to share this first peek into a project I co-created with the incomparable Ava DuVernay over the past couple of years,” Kaepernick told Entertainment Weekly. “I look forward to the world meeting the incredible Jaden Michael, a young actor who plays me during my high school years, just a kid growing up in Turlock, California, who wanted to play ball.” “Going through lines, going through the preparation, and then also being on set and having to have my lines ready, having to hit my marks, trying to bring out different emotions, different tones, different deliveries, really felt natural to me,” he explained to Ebony in October 2021. “I just didn’t have to dodge any 300-pound lineman while doing it.” He also is well aware that not everyone will receive the show’s messages the same way. “There are different audiences that the show will speak to differently. Part of what the show speaks to is how whiteness shows up…and how we engage with it… but also the pressures, the microaggressions, the racism, and what that shows up as,” he said. “I hope it’s an opportunity for White people to be able to look at their actions, how they show up in society and how they are engaging with Black and Brown folks and look at their own privilege and perspective and be able to take away from this what actions they can take to improve the dynamics and the oppressive nature of systems and positions of power and privilege that they have.” On top of all of that, Kaepernick is still eager to get back on the field. “I am still up at 5 a.m. training five, six days a week making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again,” he revealed. “That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of 32 teams and their partners to deny me employment. The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way I’m gonna be persistent here.”
What is Colin Kaepernick’s ethnicity?
Kaepernick’s birth mother is a white woman named Heidi Russo, who had Kaepernick when she was just 19 years old. His birth father is of Ghanaian, Ivorian and Nigerian descent. Kaepernick told Mr. Porterin 2015, “I never felt that I was supposed to be white. Or Black, either. My parents just wanted to let me be who I needed to be.”
How much did Colin Kaepernick get from Nike?
The specifics of Kaepernick’s Nike deal aren’t publicly known, beyond the fact that he got “millions” in the deal. The brand actually signed Kaepernick as far back as 2012, but it wasn’t until other brands courted him after his activism made him a household name that Nike actually went to work and put their endorsement to use. He reportedly also will receive royalties as part of the contract.
How much did Colin Kaepernick make from playing football?
Kaepernick made enough money playing football to live comfortably for the rest of his life. In 2011, he got a $2.2 million signing bonus and a $375,000 annual salary from the San Francisco 49ers, earning $2.6 million for the year. He made $607,000 in 2012; $740,000 in 2013 with a $100,000 workout bonus. In 2014, Kaepernick re-upped with the 49ers, nabbing a $12.3 million signing bonus and $645,000 for the year, plus a $100,000 workout bonus. His stock got even bigger a year later, when he earned a $10.4 million salary, $1.25 million roster bonus plus a $400,000 workout bonus and a $4,920 incentive. His salary increased once more in 2016 to $11.9 million, plus a $2 million roster bonus and $400,000 workout bonus. His total NFL salary earnings are more than $24.6 million.
How much did Colin Kaepernick get from the NFL?
In total from salaries and bonuses, Kaepernick earned $43.79 million from the NFL. In 2019, it was reported that he received somewhere south of $10 million in a settlement with the league over allegations that franchises within the NFL colluded to keep him out after his kneeling protests.
How much has Colin Kaepernick donated?
In 2018, The Huffington Postreported that Kaepernick delivered on a pledge to donate $1 million to underserved communities. In July 2020, Kaepernick and his Know Your Rights Camp donated another $1.75 million to COVID-related causes in Black and Brown communities. His organization donated an additional $200,000 to bail funds and legal defense funds in cities including Atlanta, Detroit, and Miami during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, as well as $450,000 in rent relief and other essential costs for those in need. In total, just that we know of as of this writing, he and his organization have donated at least $3.4 million.
What are Colin Kaepernick’s investments?
The details of Kaepernick’s investments as a whole aren’t reported, but we do know of one specific investment: Mission Advancement Corp. According to The Hollywood Reporter, which obtained an SEC filing, Mission Advancement Corp. is a special purpose-acquisition company (SPAC) seeking $287.5 million in funding, with Kaepernick partnering with private equity firm The Najafi Cos. The SPAC describes its goals as focusing on diversity and social justice issues, with the filing noting, “The mission of the Najafi/Kaepernick partnership is to identify, acquire and advance a company with the aim of creating meaningful financial and societal value. We believe Mr. Kaepernick’s substantial business experience combined with his long-term leadership on racial equity and justice issues will support our success in identifying a prospective target company and adding transformational value to the combined entity.” The Mission Advancement Corp. board is mostly female and 100% composed of people of color, according to MarketWatch, with its members including DuVernay, Birchbox founder Katia Beauchamp, Brian Lee (who co-founded The Honest Company with Jessica Albaand ShoeDazzle with Kim Kardashian), Google head of global brand consumer marketing Attica Jacques, and former Beats by Dre CMO Omar Johnson.
What organizations does Colin Kaepernick support?
Kaepernick is generous and puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to his values. He donated several boxes of suits (some his own), plus $33,000 to 100 Suits for 100 Men, a Queens, New York-based organization that provides suits to job seekers who were incarcerated or face other hardships. Kaepernick said in a statement, “I will donate $1 million, plus all the proceeds of my jersey sales from the 2016 season, to organizations working in oppressed communities, $100K a month for 10 months.” So far, he’s donated at least $1 million divided among the following charities:
Mothers Against Police Brutality: $25,000Urban Underground: $25,000Causa Justa (Just Cause): $25,000Silicon Valley De-Bug: $25,000Black Youth Project: $25,000The Gathering for Justice: $25,000Communities United for Police Reform: $25,000I Will Not Die Young Campaign: $25,000UCSF for the Mni Wiconi Health Clinic Partnership at Standing Rock: $50,000Appetite for Change: $25,000Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL): $25,000Dream (formerly RBI Harlem): $25,000Coalition for the Homeless: $25,000Justice League NYC: $25,000United We Dream: $25,000Black Veterans for Social Justice: $25,000350: $25,000Center for Reproductive Rights: $25,000Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA): $25,000Meals on Wheels: $50,000Somalia Famine Relief: $50,000Life After Hate: $50,000Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle: $25,000Silence Is Violence: $25,000Assata’s Daughters: $25,000Helping Oppressed Mothers Endure (HOME): $25,000Grassroots Leadership: $25,000American Friends Service Committee: $25,000The Dreamville Foundation: $34,000Lower East Side Girls Club: $33,000
Does Colin Kaepernick have a charitable foundation?
Kaepernick founded Know Your Rights Camp, which raises awareness of racial injustice and promotes higher education and empowerment for children of color. It also teaches how to properly and safely interact with law enforcement. He told The Undefeatedthat the camp is designed to empower children of color, explaining, “We want to let them know they have options and people that are behind them to help them, and that’s a powerful thing, for someone else to have belief in you.”
What does Know Your Rights Camp do?
Know Your Rights Camp hosts seminars for Black and Brown children to teach them not just about racial justice and policing, but also to provide opportunities for them to learn and thrive in areas including tech, health, finance, and more. According to Paper, the camps begin with a healthy breakfast provided by local Black businesses, followed by discussions and interactive learning experiences about the history of policing and how to safely interact with law enforcement officers, then learning seminars on STEM, technology, financial literacy, higher education, and more. Kids leave with a backpack full of tools to continue their learning, including The Autobiography of Malcolm X and an AncestryDNA kit. “The DNA kit is a powerful reminder to the youth that the beginning of their history predates the United States and is not shackled to the institution of slavery,” Kaepernick said. “The beginning of their history is based in freely thriving African civilizations.”
Does Colin Kaepernick do endorsements?
Next, find out how LeBron James became a billionaire.
