Colin Kaepernick Net Worth: How Much The Former QB Made In His Career

Colin Kaepernick, the former starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2016, the year he began protesting against police brutality and racial inequality by taking a knee during the national anthem ahead of games. Even with that long time out of the league, based on what we know of Colin Kaepernick’s net worth, the quarterback-turned-civil rights icon has done very well for himself.

For a time, Kaepernick was one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the NFL. In 2012, his second year in the league, Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman began designing packages for the athletic QB. Eventually, he overtook Alex Smith as the team’s starter. He’d lead the team to the 2012 NFC Championship Game and then the 2013 Super Bowl, before things began to trend downwards for the 49ers. In 2014, he signed a six-year contract purportedly worth $126 million with a large $61 million bonus. Of course, like so many NFL contracts, that number was very misleading, which explains his current estimated net worth of about $20 million, per Celebrity Net Worth.

That number is, of course, nothing to scoff at. After a lawsuit against the NFL alleging that the league’s owners were conspiring to keep him out of the league, the two sides reached a settlement of around $10 million, per reports. There was speculation that he was going to get in the $50+ million range, but it doesn’t sound like that wound up being correct.

Kaepernick maintains that he wants to play in the NFL again. He had a workout in Atlanta for NFL teams last fall, though it came with some drama, and he did not get any contract offers after the performance. Every time a team has a rash of quarterback injuries, and we see quarterbacks far less accomplished than Kaepernick get a shot, there’s a new wave of speculation and consternation about his ongoing free agency. Colin Kaepernick turned 33 in Nov. 2020, so it seems less likely that he’ll get another shot with each passing NFL season.

Colin Kaepernick’s Family:

Kaepernick was born to Heidi Russo in Milwaukee, Wis. in 1987. He was adopted by Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, who made the decision to adopt him as a newborn, after losing two baby boys to heart ailments. He has two older siblings, brother Kyle and daughter Devon Kaepernick, who were the couple’s birth children.

He grew up in Turlock, Calif., outside of the city of Modesto. There, he developed into a star athlete, playing both football and baseball at a high level. According to a Washington Post profile of Kaepernick, many college football programs were concerned that he’d turn pro in baseball, but the University of Nevada-Reno gave him a shot. He would become a two-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year with the Wolf Pack, throwing for 10,098 yards, 82 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions in four seasons, en route to becoming a second-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers.

Colin Kaepernick is in a long term relationship with Nessa Diab, a television and radio host and activist. The pair co-founded the Know Your Rights Camp in 2019, which was described by Paper as a “traveling youth-empowerment initiative.” In 2020, the organization also began using funds for COVID-19 relief.

Kaepernick also has one of the most unique pets in the sports and celebrity world. Since he was 10, he’s owned an African spurred tortoise named Sammy.

Contract History and Salary:

Coming off of his impressive career at Nevada, Kaepernick was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, selected early in the second round by the 49ers. At that spot, he signed a four-year, $5,124,296 deal, with a $2.2 million signing bonus, per Spotrac.

After leading the Niners to the Super Bowl, which the team lost to the Baltimore Ravens, Kaepernick signed that “record” quarterback contract. As it turned out, the deal was extremely incentive-laden, many of which Kaepernick never hit.

As ProFootballTalk said at the time, the deal contained “plenty of fluff.”  The true guarantee on the contract was only $13.073 million, coming in the form of a signing bonus, his first year base salary, and a workout bonus.

From Mike Florio:

For 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and part of 2018, the base salaries are guaranteed only for injury.  On April 1 of each year, the guarantees convert from injury only to fully guaranteed.  That gives the 49ers the ability to decide, in any given year, to move on from Kaepernick.  And with the deadline for the conversion of the guarantee coming on April 1, the 49ers can squat on his rights until several weeks after the start of free agency, making it harder for him to get paid elsewhere.

The base salary for 2015 is $12.4 million, guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2015.

For 2016, the base salary is $13.9 million, guaranteed for injury only until April 1, 2016.

Ahead of that April 1, 2017 date, it was reported that the 49ers intended to cut Kaepernick. As a result, he decided to opt out, seeking a contract elsewhere. The prior season, he was coming off of three surgeries, and it took him until Week 6 to take back over as the starter. That year, he threw for 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and added 468 rushing yards and two scores. His numbers weren’t great, but he was playing for a very bad, 2-14 49ers team, and they were more than good enough to get a new contract elsewhere, even if it is as a backup or emergency option after injuries. That has not materialized.

Kaepernick signed with Nike in 2011, after entering the NFL. His role as a spokesman has expanded since his last NFL stint, with his focus on social justice. In 2018, the apparel giant rolled out an advertising campaign with Kaepernick, using the “Just Do It” motto and a focus on his activism. The company has created Kaepernick-branded apparel, and reportedly pays him a salary “on par with a top end NFL player,” per Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson.

Details on Kaepernick and #Nike:

– It’s wide endorsement. He’s going to have his own branded line. Shoes, shirts, jerseys, etc. There will be Kaepernick apparel.

– Contract is a “star” deal on par with a top end #NFL player. Millions per year. Star deals also include royalties.

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) September 3, 2018

In February, it was reported that Kaepernick is working on a memoir, and will launch his own publishing company. In June, he joined the board of the online publisher Medium. He clearly has an interest in the media.

Colin Kaepernick’s Football Career, Stats, and Record:

After gaining notoriety as an All-State Baseball, Basketball, and Football star at John H. Pitman High School in his hometown of Turlock, the lightly-recruited Colin Kaepernick committed and enrolled at Nevada, to play under Chris Ault. Baseball was considered his best sport by some, but he wanted to play college football. He would redshirt in 2006, seeing his first action as a redshirt freshman in 2007.

During his career in Ault’s offense, he was a true dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 2,000 yards in each of his four seasons, and rushing for over 1,100 yards as a sophomore, junior, and season. His senior year was statistically his best. He completed 64.9-percent of his throws, for 3,022 yards, 21 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He ran for 1,206 yards and 20 touchdowns as well, and finished with an impressive 59 rushing scores to go with 82 through the air.

The Wolf Pack were 34-19 in his four seasons, topping out at 13-1 during his senior campaign. That year, the team beat Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, finishing at No. 11 in the AP Top 25.

In six NFL seasons, Kaepernick threw for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions, and was once again dynamite on the ground, rushing for 2,300 yards and 13 scores. In 2013, the season he led the Niners to the Super Bowl, he threw for 3,197 yards, 21 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, and rushed for 524 yards and four scores.

In a 2012-13 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, adding 263 yards and two touchdowns as a passer in a dominant 45-31 win. That rushing total is an NFL record for a playoff game by a quarterback.

Kaepernick is 33-31 in the NFL, with a 28-30 record as a starter. He’s 4-2 as a starter in the postseason.