It does appear the Kaepernick was blackballed by the league. Without commenting on the rightness or wrongness of his kneeling, the owners chose to not employ him for the bad publicity it would cause. And since the NFL has anti-trust protection, they are seen as a monolithic entity, thus monopolizing the market and preventing a previously employed player from earning a living, unrelated to his ability or skills.

That's why there was a settlement. And honestly, the NFL should NOT have anti-trust protection. Why Congress ever did that is beyond me.

I'm sure the NFL has way worse shit that would have come out had this gone very far..hence the payment.

Huh?

Let me hit you with a hammer in the head and then the shoulder. You let me know if you notice a distinction.

You know when you make a claim you must frequently assume other things to be true necessarily.

If what you're saying is hypothetically true, that would mean Kaepernick is going to accept a gag order on more egregious racist behavior for money... which entirely undermines everything he's hypothetically fighting against.

Seems more like something you WANT to be true than something that is likely. Usually stuff like this for big corporations is simply done to save costs as lawsuits in the US are extremely expensive when you don't have activist lawyers working pro bono for you.

The vast majority of cases end in settlements.

It's really not that scandalous.

Don't kid yourself. This is the greediest group of owners in professional sports. This is the same group of guys who just a few years ago signed a bunch of billion dollar TV contracts then turned around and locked the players out so they could get a bigger slice of that money. And in 2 more years there's a good chance they're going to try and do it again.

This is one of the most powerful groups in America... they aren't giving away nearly 100 million dollars because they're feeling charitable, especially if they feel they have the upper hand on you.

So you also think Kaep was in this for money all along?

Cos if he had a shred of principle and what you say is true (that he had the NFL in a bad place) then he simply wouldn't accept a gag order.

The thing about settlements is that both sides have to agree. If Kaep had nothing to lose, why would HE settle? He's got the pro bono representation, the media on his side, and apparently all the leverage to make the NFL bend over... according to your hypothesis.

I'm skeptical that's the case.

If the 60-80M speculated is anywhere close to being true, I don't know how one could come to any other conclusion than he settled when the NFL finally put enough zeros on the check to keep him from saying no.

You have the right to protect your company big or small. This is America, remember ? Capitalism.:shrug: Something Kaep and Reid are definitely taking advantage of right now through the back door. :rolleyes: If there is no successful capitalism for the NFL, there are no big lawsuits to be awarded for whatever.:shrug:

As far as formal collusion? I doubt it. 32 owners are billionaires for a reason. They understand $$ and how it is made, how to make more and how to protect it. As soon as Kaep showed his Farrakhan hatred for America and the effect it had viewership ratings across the country, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know how to protect your company at that point. Kaep, chose to make himself "hot political garbage" and as time went on when initially he was just pouting because he got benched (as someone said earlier in this thread). But then someone from the radical progressive left saw a huge political and monetary opportunity and got into his ear and said, "hey you want to take this to the moon and then make some serious $$ when it's all said and done? Here is how you do it:thumb:

Much cheaper paying out the lawsuit than losing viewship ratings and retail.:shrug:

On a side note, Kaep's big lack of QB acumen(refusing to be a passionate student of the game) was being exposed more and more as time went on and why his play went to manure. He like many others before him, V Young, RGIII, Leinert, etc.....had the same problem and I assure you it is only a matter of time before Lamar Jackson will be thrown into that same pile. John Harbaugh has made a huge mistake tethering his career to Lamar Jackson IMHO.

This.:clap:

The NFL and owners are just practicing good capitalism and protecting their company. How is that wrong? Okay greed is definitely sin but.....:shrug:

I don’t disagree that the league owners are a bunch of entitled assholes.

But there was literally no upside for them to continue this. Even if they win in court, they lose in the court of public opinion.

They’re lucky Kap wasn’t really in it for justice and they could just cut him a check.

It's just not Kaep and Reid. There are many attached to these guys(Kaep and Reid) who have helped them take it this far that will get a good portion of this lawsuit as well.;)

Capitalism? No it isn't. The NFL is an oligopoly. You know why the owners continue to cave on these things? Because every single time somebody says "open your books" and they won't. This isn't an open market where players can go wherever they want. The owners have unusual control over it and that includes the ability to underpay their workers (whether we like it or not... Players are absolutely underpaid). So when nfl owners choose to blackball a player, there's a reason the players union takes a very keen interest to it. We have to stop comparing the NFL to ordinary businesses. Players have a ton more leverage in the NFL than most professions.

And by the way... I don't think Kaepernick is a good poster child. But I belheve Eric Reid is a blatant case of blackballing.

In bold....compared to the rest of our society? ROFL.

Yes it is capitalism. You can stay private or go public with your company. You go public offering shares, then yes you must open your books but until then......only the Packers must open their books.:D

Eric showed his Farrakhan colors my friend and he was as dead serious as Kaep and when he attached himself to Kaep he signed his own death warrant of never playing again.