What Happened To Colin Kaepernick? His NFL Career, The Kneeling Protest And What Came After

Colin Kaepernick threw his last NFL pass on January 1, 2017. It was a nine-yard touchdown to Garrett Celek in a loss to Seattle, and it came at the end of a season that had already cost him everything. He was 29 years old, in his physical prime, and had led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl three years earlier. The calls from other teams never came. They still have not.

This month marks a decade since Kaepernick first sat on the bench during the national anthem at a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, an act of protest against police brutality and racial injustice that he initially did alone and in silence, with nobody noticing. A few weeks later a military veteran suggested he kneel instead of sit, as a gesture of respect for service members while still making his point. He knelt. This time, the world noticed.

Colin Kaepernick's NFL Career and What the Protest Cost Him

Kaepernick was drafted by San Francisco in the second round in 2011 and became the starter in 2012, leading the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-31. He was a dual-threat quarterback capable of running and throwing at an elite level, and for two seasons he was one of the best players in the league.

The 2016 season, the year of the protest, ended with him posting a 1-10 record as starter while coming off injuries. The 49ers chose not to renew his contract. He filed a grievance against the NFL in November 2017 accusing team owners of colluding to keep him out of the league, reached a confidential settlement in February 2019, and has not played professionally since.

Speaking to NBC News this month in his first in-depth interview in years, Kaepernick said he still believes the league is keeping him out deliberately. "The NFL tried to send a very clear message that if you protest police killing Black folks, if you fight for a better society and better community, we're going to try to take your career from you." He said he still works out at 4:30 AM most days, maintaining his fitness on the chance a team calls.

Colin Kaepernick in 2026: The Memoir, the Awards and the Activism

In September 2026, Kaepernick released his memoir, The Perilous Fight, tracing his upbringing, his football career and the ten years since the protest. He received the ACLU's award recognising contributions to American thought and culture in July, and is set to receive the Muhammad Ali Center's Humanitarian of the Year Award in November. He paid for an independent autopsy into the death of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man whose body was found in the water off a Mississippi island in July, and has continued the work of Know Your Rights Camp, the free educational initiative he and his partner Nessa Diab founded in 2015, which has since backed more than $575 million in contributions to grassroots and national partners.

He does not watch NFL games. He has said clearly he will not support an organisation he believes is actively keeping him out. At 38, the window to play again is closing or already closed. The work he started in 2016, by his own account, is nowhere near finished.