Was Colin Kaepernick's Agreement for $100 Million?

Let me tell you about the NFL.

Back in 2016, Josh Gordon's suspension reinstatement was denied by the NFL for yet another failed drug test.

I clearly remember one of the local hosts at 92.3 the fan calling Gordon's Suspension "Bullshit." Why? Not Josh Gordon, but someone in his management team, leaked to the station that his original suspension was for marijuana and the follow up failed test was for second-hand smoke.

The station was flooded with sympathetic phone calls for Josh Gordon. When the host reached out to the NFL, they said, on the record "NO COMMENT."

Ah, the host, putting two and two together, figured the league must be hiding something, they had no comment, no matter how hard he pressed. Josh Gordon was the local poster boy for the persecuted athlete.

I heard, a minimum, of a dozen phone calls "marijuana should be legalized."

Editor's Note: Ironically, it was in Ohio, in 2024.

Then, in a 2017 GQ Interview, Josh Gordon admitted he was on just about every drug throughout his career, and at least one banned drug for nearly every game in his career. He would be suspended again in 2018, 2019, and 2021. He announced his retirement in September of 2024 when no NFL Team would sign him. The whole 'second hand smoke' narrative was nothing but a PR blitz to garner sympathy for Gordon. The NFL never "hid" anything, they didn't leak any information per the non-disclosure clause collectively bargained by the NFL and the NFLPA for drug tests.

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So today, it was announced that the Colin Kaepernick/Spike Lee Documentary has been cancelled at ESPN. Some think it's a conspiracy because Disney/ESPN just bought a number of NFL properties, including the NFL Network, last week.

Maybe on the Kaepernick Side there is an appearance of impropriety, but I don't believe that on the Spike Lee Side. Why? Because the documentary is done. The documentary is done and NOW Colin Kaepernick and Spike Lee are having creative differences? That doesn't make a lick of sense.

According to The Athletic: "Spike Lee told Reuters, 'It’s not coming out. That’s all I can say.'

When asked why, Lee declined specifics, citing a nondisclosure agreement."

What possibly could Spike Lee know that he can't say? Well, unless it's in regard to the settlement for collusion that Colin Kaepernick signed with the NFL in 2019. The NFL gave Kaepernick (and Eric Reid) an undisclosed sum for colluding to keep them out of the sport.

Almost immediately, the New York Times came out and said it was for "much less than $10 million."

I didn't believe that for a second, but let me clarify my doubt.

The New York Times reporter who wrote the story was Ken Belson. By all accounts, he is a very respected journalist. When he reported the dollar amount, he cited 2 sources with knowledge of the settlement, but was unable to go on the record with their names.

I believe that when Belson called the NFL, they told him, like in the Josh Gordon Saga "NO COMMENT." And when he went to Kaepernick's Camp, 2 of his guys wanted him to look like a Martyr and gave Belson the low-ball dollar quote. I am not questioning Belson's reporting at all.

But now the settlement is nearly a decade in the rear view mirror. Would it change your perception of Kaepernick if you found out the settlement wasn't for 5 million dollars, but for 100 million dollars? That would make it look an awful lot like the NFL bought Kaepernick's silence.

That would be an untenable angle for a documentary about a Social Justice Warrior. There is still no official dollar amount, on the record, from the NFL or Colin himself.

What other aspect of Kaepernick's life would involve Spike Lee signing a non-disclosure clause?

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You think I'm recklessly speculating?

Let me prove my point with one simple name: John Gruden. In the Fight Against the NFL, Gruden is the Anti-Herro We Need.

John Gruden used questionable and racist language in emails with other NFL Teams' personnel. (Allegedly). He was then fired by his teams' owner, Mark Davis. Gruden is suing for the remainder of his $100 million contract with the Raiders in his lawsuit.

Gruden's argument? If there were hundreds of emails, involving dozens, if not hundreds, of other NFL personnel, how is it that Gruden's emails were the only ones leaked to the press, and specifically, his team's owner?

It's a great argument. Gruden smells a hit job, and, quite frankly, I smell a hit job.

When the NFL leaks unflattering information, they get their brains sued out, whether it is true or not.

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What's my angle?

I think that Roger Goodell is the White Devil.

Seriously.

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