Remember Colin Kaepernick? That shining bastion of free speech and the right to play mediocre football has settled his collusion case against the NFL – and no one gets to hear the details.

Why? After all, Kaepernick’s fight was all about JUSTICE. TRUTH. FIGHT THE MAN. Why would we not hear details about his stunning victory against the eeeeeeeevil NFL owners?

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— Mark Geragos (@markgeragos) February 15, 2019

Colin Kaepernick settles collusion case with NFL: https://t.co/ZNkHWSBM9j pic.twitter.com/Ouj6pgzU1s

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 16, 2019

Oh. Not with a bang but with a whimper.

Kaepernick and former teammate Eric Reid, who both took knees during the national anthem before games in 2016 as a way to protest systematic racism, had filed the grievance against the league for allegedly colluding against them to keep them from playing.

“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL,” according to a statement by their lawyers, Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas.

“As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment,” said the statement, which was also released by the NFL.

Kaepnernick has not been signed by any team since he left the 49ers after the 2016 season. Reid has continued to play, with the 49ers in 2017 and the Carolina Panthers in the most recent season.

“We are not privy to the details of the settlement, but support the decision by the players and their counsel,” the NFL Players Association said.

Now Eric Reid has continued to play in the NFL, so whatever “collusion” there was to keep him out was obviously pretty lousy. Kaepernick is another story. He probably got a big payday (estimates that I’ve seen range from $20 million to $60 million and more, presumably split between Kaepernick and Reid and their legal teams), so that’s nice for him. But I thought this was all about letting him play football? Because THAT’S what he really wanted, and the big mean NFL owners just wouldn’t let him?

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— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 15, 2019

While many on the left are cheering because Kaepernick got him some Benjamins (or whatever, he made THE MAN pay him!), if this was all about getting Kaepernick to play in the NFL again, I’d say that dream is dead. That NDA that both sides agreed to swings both ways. Kaepernick has to keep his mouth shut about anything he and his legal team uncovered about the NFL, and they can’t continue to press a collusion case. The NFL pays Kaepernick a ton of money – yes, they paid him to go away – and now they have effectively sealed his fate. Kaepernick, who was never anything more than a mediocre quarterback, will never play in the NFL again. Between his attitude, the money now involved, and the NDA, it has giving all teams the perfect out to never consider bringing him on again. And any team that did so would be foolish beyond measure.

So while his fan club is cheering about his payday, Kaepernick now has to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life. The NFL certainly isn’t going to be a part of it (and he might have agreed to that). He can’t talk about “how he brought the NFL down,” because he didn’t. He can’t even talk about the money, because of the NDA. His SJW cred is now basically zero, because he no longer has clout, a platform, or an ongoing cause to promote.

In short, Kaepernick’s moment is over, and everyone else will move on. I hope the money was worth it, because that’s all he’s left with now. He might be remembered fondly in certain left-wing sports circles, but he can’t say anything about it himself. He gave up his right to speech for millions of dollars. What conviction. Much wow.

Or maybe his lawyers knew they would never be able to prove his case, and convinced him to cut his losses with a large payout. We’ll never know. And as this story – and Kaepernick himself – fades away, no one will much care, either.

Featured image via Pixabay, Pixabay License free for commercial use