Colin Kaepernick’s N.F.L. Collusion Case Can Continue, Arbitrator Rules

Kaepernick filed a grievance against the N.F.L. in October accusing the owners of conspiring to not offer him a new contract because of his decision to protest during the playing of the national anthem.

Since he became a free agent in March 2017, Kaepernick has not been invited to work out for a team, or been offered a new contract. Some team officials have quietly suggested that Kaepernick’s best years are behind him, while others said they did not want to sign him to play as a backup. Kaepernick, who is now 30, played six years with the 49ers and led them to the Super Bowl in his second season.

John Elway, the former Denver Broncos quarterback who is now general manager of the team, muddied the waters further when he told the NFL Network that he did not sign Kaepernick because the player had once been offered a contract and turned it down.

Elway, though, did not say that he offered Kaepernick a contract in 2016, when he was set to receive $12 million from the 49ers, and months before he first protested. Kaepernick said no because he would have had to take a pay cut to join the Broncos. Elway said that he did not sign Kaepernick when he became a free agent the following year even though he might have accepted far less than $12 million to play in Denver.

Elway did not say explicitly that he shunned Kaepernick because he protested during the anthem. But Kaepernick’s lawyers contend that the quarterback was still talented enough to play in the N.F.L., and that he was willing to be a backup. The N.F.L. has shunned Kaepernick because of his political views and his decision to protest during the anthem, his legal team has argued.

During discovery, Kaepernick’s lawyers have requested hundreds of pages of documents from the league office and teams. It has also questioned, in closed-door sessions, owners of the Cowboys, the Patriots and several other teams, as well as league officials including Commissioner Roger Goodell and Troy Vincent, the executive vice president for football operations.

Cases alleging collusion against sports leagues are often difficult to win because there is rarely a “smoking gun” document or directive instructing owners to act in a coordinated way against a player or players. One notable exception came in the late 1980s, when Major League Baseball was roiled by several cases brought by the players and their union that accused team owners of trying to keep down salaries. The cases ended in a settlement worth $280 million.

Shared from: www.nytimes.com

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