Colin Kaepernick Nears Completion of His Million Dollar Pledge Despite Not Collecting an NFL Paycheck

If Colin Kaepernick—who remains unsigned by an NFL team despite the fact that Mike Glennon, Jacoby Brissett, Blake Bortles, Jared Goff, Case Keenum, Brian Hoyer, one of the McCown brothers, and the Artist Formerly Known as Andy Dalton are all expected to start at his position this weekend—is remotely dismayed by his continued period of unemployment, you wouldn't know it from looking at his checkbook. Before the 2016 season, shortly after he began his now-ubiquitous act of kneeling during the national anthem to protest this country's storied traditions of systemic racism and inequality, Kaepernick pledged to donate $1 million of his salary and all earnings from sales of his jersey to community organizations that work to raise awareness of those issues. And although he hasn't collected an NFL paycheck since his tenure in Santa Clara ended in March, Kaepernick is on the verge of fulfilling that promise.

Earlier this month, he crossed the $900,000 threshold after announcing donations to DREAM, an East Harlem charter school; the Coalition for the Homeless, which provides services like food assistance, mental health treatment, and job training to homeless men and women in New York City; Justice League NYC, a nonprofit that seeks to reform the city's criminal justice system, especially as it affects young people; and United We Dream, a D.C. nonprofit working to preserve via legislation the DACA program shredded earlier this month by President Trump. Kaepernick's total giving is expected to finally hit seven-figure territory next month, and although he hasn't specifically earmarked those portions of his contributions derived from jersey sales proceeds, guess which member of the 49ers reportedly moved the most merchandise between March and May of this year, despite the fact that he wasn't even on the team during that period? Hint: It's, uh, not Brian Freaking Hoyer.

Last year, Colin Kaepernick threw for 16 touchdowns against only 4 interceptions in limited work for a godawful team, and his teammates honored him after the season by designating him to receive the 49ers' in-house award for "courageous, inspirational play." After Week 1—again, having not played a down since New Year's Day—he was named the NFL Players Association's Community MVP. Meanwhile, the league's 32 owners, some of whom happen to have donated a total of over $7 million to Donald Trump, have collectively deemed him unfit to even stand on the sidelines and hold a damn clipboard. This cowardly soft blackballing effort hasn't stopped Kaepernick's message from inspiring many who are still in the league—and with increasing frequency, both black and white players—from taking action. Fortunately for the myriad community organizations who have benefited directly from his courage, it hasn't stopped Kaepernick from doing so, either.