Colin Kaepernick and the NFL have settled a collusion lawsuit filed by the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, lawyers for both parties said Friday.
Kaepernick and his former teammate Eric Reid alleged the NFL had colluded against them to keep them from playing after they both kneeled during the national anthem before games in 2016 in protest of racial injustice and police brutality.
“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL,” a joint statement from the NFL and lawyers for Kaepernick and Reid said.
“As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party,” it said.
Kaepernick has not signed with any team since he split with the 49ers after the 2016 season. Reid has played with the 49ers and the Carolina Panthers since then.
“We are not privy to the details of the settlement, but support the decision by the players and their counsel,” the NFL Players Association said. “We continuously supported Colin and Eric from the start of their protests, participated with their lawyers throughout their legal proceedings and were prepared to participate in the upcoming trial in pursuit of both truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them.”
