Colin Kaepernick still doesn’t have an NFL home, but that hasn’t ended his popularity as a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. For a few months this year, he was leading the 49ers in jersey sales.
According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, the free agent quarterback—a status that means he’s still available if the New York Jets or the Cleveland Browns admit that they need an upgrade at that position—led the 49ers in merchandise sales from March through May. I guess it doesn’t matter that Kaepernick is no longer with the team; his impact was felt over the five seasons he starred at quarterback.
Kaepernick has become an NFL pariah since his silent protest against racial and social inequality by kneeling during the national anthem last season. Once the season was finished, Kaepernick opted out of his contract because he knew that the 49ers were going to cut him, so he wanted to get a jump on the free agent market. He has been a free agent ever since.
Many, including me, believe that Kaepernick’s protest has resulted in his being “whiteballed” by the NFL.
Here’s how Business Insider describes Kaepernick’s free agency:
Despite the fact that many signal callers have found new homes over the past six months, Kaepernick remains unsigned. Both the film and the statistics say that the Nevada product is good enough to be on an NFL roster, and his supporters believe he has been “blackballed” by NFL owners who prefer inferior quarterbacks to the potential distraction of employing such a divisive player.
To replace Kaepernick, the 49ers settled on veteran Brian Hoyer, a journeyman who’s played for six teams in nine seasons. After a slow start to the year, he was solid against the Rams, hitting 23 out of 37 targets for 332 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a wild 41-39 loss.
Brian Hoyer. Yeah, good luck with that, 49ers. Also, can we all just agree that Kaepernick should be signed to an NFL team, and he isn’t playing because the NFL is run by a bunch of old rich white guys who are basically doing old-rich-white-guy shit?
Read more at ESPN and Business Insider.