ramssuperbowl99

I didn't say the NFL was terrified of discovery because they were guilty.

This part: should have been a clue that you're wrong.

That statement reads like it's trying too hard.

100%. That's why we're going to hear about this for the next however many months or years, then there will be another settlement right before discovery again and we'll either move on or it'll be groundhog day.

Yeah so there's some great evidence of either collusion through the league, or teams being fearful of league retaliation given the settlement. The NFL should just nut up and pay the man his money so he can move on.

This fake workout, with 25 teams showing up to watch him sign a waiver with only 8 willing to drive an hour to actually watch him workout is evidence of teams not being forthright in what their goal with the workout was. That's going to get brought up. Every week, there are dozens of guys who get individual team workouts. What the NFL did for Kaep was unprecedented, so if they are truly just evaluating him like anyone else, why is the process for Kaep so much different? Regarding the bold question, Kaep is the exception to the rule. Most fringe players who try to become a brand are quickly never heard from again - Michael Sam is a good example of this. He went on Oprah, and then it's been a whole lot of nothing. Kaep inspiring a national conversation here is not standard at all, and that should be the least of the NFL's worries. That said, if they want to get out in front of that, they could contact the NFLPA and either amend the current CBA (conceding something in return), or put it on the table in the next CBA negotiation.

First off, not dealing with "what makes Colin so much superior", we can discuss this without taking shots. Kaepernick and his lawyers aren't arrogant for wanting to get paid. There are 2 things that make his case different: Kaep (and the NFLPA, assuming they back his grievance when it comes) are alleging the NFL teams have conspired to not hire him. Collusion is against the CBA. Tebow and Brown, to my knowledge, haven't made that claim. Kaep has already settled a lawsuit, and will likely be alleging the NFL teams are not hiring him out of retaliation for having to pay him previously. Number 2 is a big deal. Courts don't like retaliation.

That's probably the answer. The NFL was terrified of discovery, it was coming up in a few weeks, and the settlement was signed knowing this would be an issue. Why discussions don't keep going after that, I really don't know.

That's one side of it. The other side is that the NFL tried to cheap out on their side of the agreement and didn't pay out Kaep for his future employment prospects as a QB, only his past prospects.

I've been consistently pro-Kaep, and don't mind him trying to get his money in exchange for going away, but it's shocking to me that each side agreed to the settlement with no consideration as to what would happen when Kaep left the room having signed.

Someone just walking in for a job interview isn't governed by a CBA. The issue the league has is that the previous settlement didn't have CK sign away his potential future employment prospects. The previous settlement just covered the from the initial anthem protests, up through the previous settlement signature. So if there was any communication from clubs that they still aren't signing him, that's collusion and against the CBA. Not only that, Kaep can now argue that he's not only being blackballed for the anthem protests, but also as retaliation for the NFL having to pay him previously. The short version, is that the NFL owners were cheap or stupid or both. They should have had the settlement include Kaep agreeing he'd never play for the NFL again, and the NFL should have paid him for that. They didn't, so Kaep is going to try and play, get denied, get another grievance started, the NFL is going to freak out because the discovery would be a nightmare, and they'll pay Kaep the money they should have paid him in the first settlement. And we'll have to hear about it for a few years.

They're right back to the same situation they settled previously. They could try and argue anything, but if they settled with that argument in their back pocket already, you'd be inclined to think they'd do so again.

And Kaepernick's lawyers will argue that, after teams won't work him out, that he's being blackballed for his political activism. Which the NFL is not allowed to do. If they wanted to, they can negotiate that in the CBA (good luck) or have settled with Kaepernick previously. I think it's fair to say at this point the relationship has deteriorated to the point where you can reasonably criticize everyone involved for having ulterior motives to all of their actions, and that the best course of action was for the NFL to buy out Kaepernick's right to sue for future blackballing in their previous settlement. But they didn't. Because they're idiots or cheap or both. So we're going to hear about this for another couple years.

Again, I'm speculating here, but his lawyers are going to argue why the teams no-showed. More specifically, I'm guessing his lawyers are going to say the team's actions aren't consistent with a sincere attempt to evaluate Kaepernick, but were consistent with bait to get him to sign a waiver so that they could blackball him freely without legal repercussions. The first part of my post, which you deleted, is the relevant portion here. That waiver was the whole goal of the "workout".

Is there any other reason that he didn't try out in front of the 25 teams that came? https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/11/16/kaepernick-moves-workout-says-nfl-demanded-he-sign-liability-waiver/ There is no legitimate reason the league would have to tie a workout to a waiver that removes Kaepernick's ability to sue for any collusion that may have happened between his most recent settlement and today. What they tried to do was convince teams to come, have Kaepernick show up, sign away those rights for free that the NFL was too cheap to buy out in the original settlement, and then never hear from teams again. Kaepernick, smartly, didn't just no-show, but held a workout in a different place so that it is clear the majority of the 25 teams who originally showed weren't even interested enough in seeing him to make a short drive. Which begs the question: if you are willing to have a scout fly into Atlanta to see a QB because you sincerely think he might be better than your current backup, why are you not willing to make a short drive to confirm? And maybe one team has a scout with a quick flight back that can't be bumped or something, but more than 2/3rds of the teams there? That defies belief. My guess is that Kaepernick and his lawyers will use this as part of a second lawsuit.