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SPORTS Friday 15 February 2019

AP source: Alliance had

conversation with

Kaepernick

By BARRY WILNER kneeling during the nation-
AP Pro Football Writer al anthem at games. He
A person with knowledge has not played the last two
of the conversation tells seasons and has brought a
The Associated Press that lawsuit against the NFL for
the new Alliance of Ameri- collusion to keep him out of
can Football spoke with the league.
Colin Kaepernick during its He also fits the description
development about join- for potential Alliance play-
ing the league. ers, though his contract
But Kaepernick wanted demands don't fit with the
$20 million or more to league's financial structure.
consider playing with the After all, the AAF is entering
league that had its debut its second weekend.
last weekend. Players earn $225,000 over
The person spoke on condi- three years in the Alliance,
tion of anonymity Thursday but they also are free be-
because neither side has ginning in May to pursue
publicly acknowledged NFL careers.
such talks. Should they not catch on In this Oct. 11, 2018, file photo, former NFL football quarterback Colin Kaepernick attends the
The Alliance says its mission there, they are obligated W.E.B. Du Bois Medal ceremonies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.
is to provide opportunities to return to the AAF next Associated Press
for players not in the NFL season.
to continue their careers, More than 80 percent of Al-
with a possibility they could liance players spent some
entice NFL teams to sign time in an NFL camp or on
them once the AAF season a roster. None is a star; the
concludes at the end of rare NFL first-round draft
April. The league also ap- pick in the AAF is Birming-
proached Tim Tebow, who ham running back Trent
said he wanted to con- Richardson, who flamed
tinue pursuing his baseball out with the Browns and
career. Tebow currently is Colts, but who league co-
in the New York Mets' spring founder Bill Polian, a Pro
training camp. Football Hall of Fame ex-
A message from the AP to ecutive, says could be "fast
Kaepernick's representa- approaching" stardom in
tives was not immediately the Alliance after his strong
answered. debut.
Kaepernick, then with It's uncertain if Kaeper-
the San Francisco 49ers, nick ever will play football
helped start a wave of again, but at his asking
protests about social and price, the only place would
racial injustice in 2016 by be the NFL.q