Colin Kaepernick is the new face of Nike

Colin Kaepernick paired up with Nike recently for an ad campaign. Monday, Kaepernick posted it on his twitter and it shocked the world. No one was aware that Nike had signed Kaepernick to a deal until it was announced.

Nike and the NFL have a contract that will go through the 2028 season. Nike will make the gameday uniforms as well as sideline apparel for all 32 teams. Nike’s ‘swoosh’ logo is prominent on every piece they make.

Colin Kaepernick Past with the NFL

Colin Kaepernick is the former San Fransisco 49ers quarterback. He started five seasons for the 49ers before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2016 season. No team has picked him up since he was released. In 2016, Kaepernick began to kneel during the National Anthem. He was alone in his protests for a while, but soon enough 49ers’ safety Eric Reed joined in.

Once fans and the NFL started to notice his protesting, he came out and explained that he “will not stand for a flag or country that oppresses black people.” He stated that this is his “right as a citizen” to kneel and protest. Until the day he was released, he did not stand for another National Anthem. Most people believe that Kaepernick does not have a job anymore because of his protesting. He does as well, which is why he filed a grievance against the NFL.

His lawyer stated that the NFL has “colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick’s leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States.”

Following the protesting more and more players each game decided to join him. Even with Kaepernick not in the league today, many players still sit down or kneel during the anthem. But this off-season the NFL decided to enforce a new rule about kneeling. It is no longer allowed. Any player that wishes to protest must stay in the locker room during the National Anthem.

Now that the public is more aware of the grievance, NFL Vice President Jocelyn Moore stated “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”

Nike’s stock fell more than two percent on Tuesday and ‘NikeBoycott’ was trending on twitter, but Nike believes that this campaign will gain more than it’ll lose from this campaign.