“Overpriced Himself”: Fans Deem Colin Kaepernick a ‘Failure’ After Asking $20 Million Saga Resurfaces

Ever since his stellar quarterbacking days with the San Francisco 49ers came to a nosedive end following the 2016 season, Colin Kaepernick has been trying to find a way back to the NFL. The activist comes with his baggage of past controversies. And no NFL team is particularly willing to partake in the headlines. However, a smaller rival football league once offered the passer a road to redemption. Shockingly, Colin passed on it after not flinching from his unrealistic financial demands.

In 2019, three years after Colin Kaepernick opted out of his final year of contract with the Niners, a startup football league, the Alliance of American Football, wanted the former NFL superstar. Sure, Colin’s presence would have massively helped to build the AAF’s reputation. But wait till you hear how much Colin wanted from the league.

Colin Kaepernick showed no mercy to a budding new football league

The former Nevada Wolf Pack and 36th overall second-round pick from 2011, quickly rose to the ranks of stardom in red and gold. Getting his first start in the mid-season after Alex Smith’s injury in 2012, he took the Niners to the Super Bowl that year, their first one since 1994. Colin went on to sign a $126 million six-year extension in 2014. However, a disappointing 1-10 2016 season and his controversial kneeling stance against social and racial injustices during the national anthem brought about an untimely end to his Bay Area career.

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When Bill Polian’s AAF reached out in 2019, Colin was still accustomed to his NFL price tag and wanted $20 million or more. However, the Alliance could only manage a $250,000 three-year non-guaranteed contract for all its players during those formative years. This also included health insurance and a conditional educational stipend. Unfortunately, this was nowhere close to what Kaepernick demanded.

Fans didn’t respond kindly to Colin’s demand. “No, he just overpriced himself,” one commented. Another wrote, “Let him sit and watch the NFL on TV.” “He thinks he’s that good. He’s not,” one wrote with a laughing emoji. The Alliance of American Football ceased to operate, filing for bankruptcy in April 2019 after its inaugural season. Whether this was because of Colin’s rejection was uncertain.

Colin found a more lucrative career

Kaepernick’s shift to show business also had a major hand in the visual disinterest of NFL teams in signing him. Even in a backup role. The activist has worked with some of the biggest networks, producing television shows, including one based on his journey to the NFL, ‘Colin in Black and White’.

The 2x SWAC offensive player of the year from his college years even authored a graphic novel this year. Titled, ‘Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game’, Kaepernick faced considerable criticism for his attack on his adoptive parents and calling them out for perpetuating racism during his childhood.

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“Five, six days a week. I’m still up at 4:30. I go get my training in. Yeah, that passion is still there, and the ability is still there,” he said about a possible NFL return in an interview recently. And maybe if Kaepernick can adjust his financial needs to his current form and long absence, there is a chance fans might see him on-field again one day.