It’s been years, but the name still carries this electric, polarizing charge. You mention Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers and people don't just talk about football; they talk about politics, flags, and "the knee." But if we strip away the cable news shouting matches for a second, there's a wild, complex story of an athlete who basically broke the NFL’s mold before the league broke him.
Honestly, it’s easy to forget how terrifying he was on the field. He wasn't just a quarterback; he was a glitch in the Matrix. One minute he’s standing in the pocket, and the next, he’s galloping 50 yards down the sideline with those long, gazelle-like strides.
The Night the League Changed
January 12, 2013. That's the date everyone should remember. The Green Bay Packers came to Candlestick Park for a divisional playoff game, and Kaepernick turned the turf into his own personal track meet. He ran for 181 yards. That is a record for a quarterback in a single game—regular season or playoffs.
It was absurd.
The Packers’ defense looked like they were chasing a ghost. Dom Capers, the Green Bay defensive coordinator, had no answer for the read-option. Every time the defensive end crashed, Kaepernick would pull the ball and vanish. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more. It was the birth of "Kaepernicking"—that signature celebration where he’d flex and kiss his bicep.
Why Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers Still Matters
People get hung up on the 2016 protest, but you have to understand the context of his 49ers career to see why it all hit so hard. He wasn't some benchwarmer looking for attention. He was the guy who took Jim Harbaugh’s team to Super Bowl XLVII.
He came this close to winning it, too.
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Down in New Orleans against the Ravens, after a literal blackout in the stadium, Kaepernick led a furious comeback. The Niners were down 28-6. They clawed back to 34-31. They had the ball on the 5-yard line with a chance to win. Three straight fades to Michael Crabtree fell incomplete. Some say there was holding. Some say Kap should’ve run it. Regardless, that was the peak of the mountain.
The Harbaugh Era vs. The Decline
The fall-off wasn't just about the kneeling. It was about the coaching carousel and a roster that fell apart faster than a cheap suit.
- Jim Harbaugh: The guy who "had his back." Under Harbaugh, Kap was 25-14 as a starter. The system used his mobility to hide his struggle with some of the more complex, "pure" pocket-passing reads.
- Jim Tomsula: Total disaster. In 2015, the team went 5-11. Kaepernick’s confidence looked shot. He ended up getting benched for Blaine Gabbert, which, in hindsight, is still hard to process.
- Chip Kelly: 2016 was the year of the protest, but statistically, Kap actually played okay. He threw 16 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions. But the team was 1-10 in his starts. The defense couldn't stop a nosebleed.
The Knee: A Timeline of Dissent
In August 2016, a reporter noticed Kaepernick sitting on the bench during the national anthem of a preseason game against the Packers. He did it again against the Broncos. Nobody really cared at first.
Then came the conversation with Nate Boyer.
Boyer was a former Army Green Beret who had a cup of coffee in the NFL as a long snapper. He wrote an open letter to Kaepernick, and they actually sat down to talk. Boyer suggested that instead of sitting—which could look like he was just ignoring the anthem—he should kneel. Like a soldier at a fallen comrade’s grave. It was meant to be a gesture of respect while still signaling that things weren't right in America regarding police brutality and racial injustice.
On September 1, 2016, in San Diego, he took that knee for the first time. Eric Reid, his teammate, joined him.
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The world exploded.
The Collusion Case and the $10 Million Question
After the 2016 season, Kaepernick opted out of his contract. He was 29 years old. Most quarterbacks at that age, especially ones with a Super Bowl ring attempt on their resume, get at least a backup job.
He didn't.
For months, then years, teams signed guys like Nathan Peterman or Mark Sanchez while Kap stayed on his couch. In 2017, he filed a collusion grievance against the NFL. He claimed the owners were blackballing him because of the PR headache his protests caused.
Basically, the owners were scared of losing money.
In 2019, the case was settled. Rumors flew that he got $60 million or $80 million. The truth? It was much less. Reports from the Wall Street Journal later suggested the settlement for both Kaepernick and Eric Reid was under $10 million. After lawyer fees and taxes, it wasn't exactly "never work again" money for a pro athlete.
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Breaking Down the Misconceptions
A lot of folks think he was "washed up" when he started kneeling. That’s a bit of a stretch. Was he the same guy from 2012? No. Defenses had figured out how to contain the read-option. They forced him to stay in the pocket and read the whole field, which was never his strongest suit.
But was he worse than the 64 other quarterbacks on NFL rosters in 2017? Probably not.
He had a career passer rating of 88.9. For comparison, that’s higher than guys like Eli Manning or Cam Newton’s career averages. He also had one of the lowest interception percentages in league history (1.8%). He took care of the ball. He just became "too loud" for a league that values "no distractions" above almost everything else.
Actionable Takeaways from the Kaepernick Era
If you’re looking at the legacy of Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers, it’s a lesson in the intersection of branding and conviction.
- Understand Your Value Beyond the Field: Kaepernick’s Nike deal (the "Dream Crazy" campaign) actually increased his net worth and influence more than his final years in the NFL did. He transitioned from an athlete to a symbol.
- The Power of Dialogue: The move from sitting to kneeling, sparked by Nate Boyer, shows how listening to a different perspective can change the entire narrative of a protest.
- Know the Risks of Disruption: In any corporate environment (and the NFL is a corporation), being a "disruption" carries a cost. Whether you agree with him or not, he knew the price and paid it.
The 49ers have moved on. They’ve had the Jimmy Garoppolo era, the Brock Purdy era, and plenty of heartbreak in between. But if you walk through the streets of San Francisco today, you’ll still see #7 jerseys. He wasn't just a player; he was a moment in time that the NFL still hasn't quite figured out how to move past.
To truly understand the impact he had, you should look up his 2012 highlights against the Packers. Watch the speed. Watch the way the crowd at the 'Stick loses its mind. Before the politics, there was just a kid from Nevada with a rocket arm and legs that couldn't be caught.