With the 2026 NFL season roughly two weeks away, Colin Kaepernick is back in the headlines.
Kaepernick played in the NFL from 2011-2016, spending every season with the San Francisco 49ers. He racked up 12,271 passing yards, 2,300 rushing yards and 85 total touchdowns during that stretch. His 2012 season was truly special, as he helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl. He also set the single-game record for most rushing yards (181) by a quarterback during that season’s NFC Divisional Round.
Despite his success with the 49ers, Kaepernick hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL in roughly a decade. He became a polarizing figure once he started kneeling during the national anthem.
Although we haven’t seen Kaepernick on the gridiron in a while, The Athletic’s Jerry Brewer said the former NFL quarterback “stands taller” than his peers. This column was released right after Kaepernick was named the “Humanitarian of the Year” for 2026 by the Muhammad Ali Center.
“In modern athlete activism, Kaepernick stands alone. He is far from beloved but his stance is aging well,” Brewer wrote. “The prominent athletes of the past 10 years have mishandled what they should’ve treated as a precious legacy. With their conceit, the clout chasers have turned his courage into a template without asking what made the original worth copying.”
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Did Kaepernick officially retire?
Kaepernick has made it known over the years that he keeps himself in shape just in case an NFL team comes knocking on his door. So for now, he hasn’t officially announced his retirement.
As for regrets, Kaepernick doesn’t have any when it comes to how he handled the 2016 season.
“Thinking about whether or not it’s worth it: if even one life was saved, one life was advanced, it’ll be worth it every day of the week,” Kaepernick said. “I think that’s incredibly important as we think about our future. We have to be able to do whatever it takes to make sure that we’re advancing our communities, advancing our students, and making sure that we are setting each other up for success in the future.”
Will another team give Kaepernick a second chance? Probably not, but he remains extremely influential.
