Colin Kaepernick has been trending recently because of the promotional tour of his new memoir, The Perilous Fight. Kaepernick has been calling out Jay-Z about his NFL deal and betrayal of Black culture in the process. The public has weighed in on the situation with mixed opinions. Some people claim Kaepernick is using Jay-Z for clout to sell his book. Other people are disgusted by Jay-Z’s actions and call him a sellout.
The Polarizing Colin Kaepernick
Kaepernick is an activist and former football player who was blackballed for protesting against police brutality. In 2026, before a football game, he chose to take a knee instead of standing for the American national anthem. This act was motivated by the police killing of Mario Woods, in addition to the continuous police violence against Black people across the country. As a result, he lost his football career and was forced to file a grievance against the NFL.
Despite the popular belief fueled by Jay-Z that Kaepernick signed a non-disparagement agreement with the NFL, Kaepernick has refuted this throughout his book tour. He affirmed that a grievance is very different from the partnership deal Jay-Z made with the NFL. His grievance settlement resulted from the NFL preventing him from playing for any other teams in the league. Therefore, they reached a financial settlement to compensate Kaepernick for the financial impact on his career.
In 2016, Kaepernick and his wife founded the Know Your Rights Camp. Their goal is to advance the liberation of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, and mass mobilization. During his book tour, he acknowledged a moral responsibility to use his platform to raise awareness and empower others.
His memoir, The Perilous Fight, highlights his early life as a biracial child raised by adoptive White parents, his journey into football and leading his team to the Super Bowl, his controversial protest, and the aftermath of the sports politics he had to navigate.
Jay-Z & the NFL
The Perilous Fight also addresses how Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL was a tactic used to subvert Kaepernick’s protest. In an interview with Trevor Noah, Kaepernick expressed that he assumed Jay-Z was an ally after seeing him wear his jersey during a Saturday Night Live performance in 2017.
To express his gratitude, Kaepernick contacted Jay-Z but never reached him. Despite not directly communicating with him, Jay-Z’s company, Roc Nation, tried to recruit Kaepernick for representation.
Fast forward to 2019 when Jay-Z signed a partnership deal with the NFL. His company would arrange the Super Bowl Halftime Show entertainment and support social justice programs through the Inspire Change Initiative.
During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Jay-Z was asked whether he had spoken with Kaepernick about the NFL partnership, and he said no. As a result of that interview, he reached out to Kaepernick directly. During their conversation, Kaepernick expressed his disappointment and was met with the response “the ink is dry” from Jay-Z. Since the contract was already signed, Kaepernick asked Jay-Z to keep his name out of his mouth in the press.
Jay-Z faced backlash after expressing “we’ve moved past kneeling” during his NFL partnership press conference, in response to whether he would kneel during the national anthem. He insisted that focusing on actionable items was the priority at that moment.
Kaepernick called out Jay-Z publicly and expressed that he was selling the culture to racists. In his recent book tours, Kaepernick revealed that Roc Nation attempted a smear campaign against him because of his retaliation. When news outlets refused to smear Kaepernick, the narrative shifted to the importance of a Black man having ownership in the NFL.
Black Faces in High Places
Kaepernick publicly revealed that the NFL specifically used Jay-Z as a Black face to distract from his protest. In a recent Pivot Podcast interview, he revealed that a leaked conversation by NFL owners suggested they needed a Black face to control public perception. The NFL initially offered Kaepernick the position to manage their social justice initiatives while he was still blackballed, which he rejected.
In a recent tour at Yankee Stadium, Jay-Z did a freestyle calling out Kaepernick and Twitter activists. He proclaimed that he is indeed a sellout because he sold out Yankee Stadium for three nights. Jay-Z called out people who use services by Amazon, Instagram, Google, and Meta and questioned why those companies aren’t being boycotted. He essentially claimed the public picks and chooses whom to boycott when it is convenient for them. Jay-Z further asserted that Kaepernick took a check and signed a non-disparagement agreement, claiming he’s the one who can’t be controlled.
The freestyle was triggered by backlash he received after partnering with Target to release exclusive vinyls for the 30th anniversary of his Reasonable Doubt album. Some in the Black community were outraged because there is a communal understanding to boycott Target. This is mainly because Target chose to end their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. They also recently faced backlash for using racially charged marketing tactics to advertise their products. This act of undermining communal solidarity reignited the conversation about how he subverted Kaepernick’s protest.
Capitalism Over Community
Jay-Z is a Black billionaire who is viewed as an iconic cultural bearer in the Black community. As one of the few Black billionaires, some may view him as an aspirational figure. They believe that if they just work hard enough, they too can attain Jay-Z’s level of stature. But unfortunately, capitalism only allows for a few ultra-wealthy at the expense of exploiting the majority of people who are poor and working class. To maintain his billionaire status, Jay-Z has to prioritize profit over the community’s desires.
The reality is we cannot rely on celebrities to liberate us. When they are so far removed from a poor person’s lived experience, it can be diffiult to relate. For their activism to be effective, it will most likely come at their own personal cost, like Kaepernick, who is still blackballed from playing in the NFL. But how many celebrities are willing to stand up for what’s right and risk losing their financial security?
While we enjoy celebrities as entertainers and should care about their stance on social issues, we must also be intentional about the power of our dollars. Similar to the Target boycott, are we willing to divest from the NFL and Roc Nation?
What's Your Reaction?
