Colin Kaepernick has revisited his comparison between the NFL Scouting Combine and the slave trade. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback discussed the subject during a September 2026 appearance on The Pivot podcast.
Former NFL player and team captain Jack Brewer strongly rejected the comparison. Brewer acknowledged that the combine can be stressful and unpleasant but argued that its demanding evaluation process serves a practical purpose for NFL teams considering prospective players.
Kaepernick revisits controversial comparison with NFL combine
Kaepernick discussed his experience at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine during his appearance on The Pivot. He described prospects stripping down while teams evaluated their bodies and characterized the environment as a meat market.
Kaepernick said he lacked the historical perspective at the time to connect his experience with what he now views as parallels between the combine evaluation process and a slave auction. Kaepernick acknowledged an important economic difference because professional football players can earn millions of dollars.
His argument instead focused on the evaluation process and what he views as a power imbalance between teams and prospects. The remarks revisited a comparison he had prominently presented several years earlier. Brewer later challenged that interpretation while discussing his own experience going through the NFL evaluation process.
Kaepernick first presented the comparison several years earlier
Kaepernick prominently presented the comparison in the 2021 Netflix limited series Colin in Black & White. The 6-episode production explored his formative years and experiences with race, class, and culture. Kaepernick served as the present-day narrator, while actor Jaden Michael portrayed him in his younger years.
Ava DuVernay and Kaepernick co-created the series, which premiered on Netflix in October 2021. One scene examined how NFL prospects are physically evaluated at the combine. Kaepernick described the process as establishing a power dynamic, and the sequence visually connected the evaluations with a slave auction.
DuVernay later told CBS News that the comparison concerned social control and the physical valuation of Black bodies rather than the economics of playing professional football.
Brewer rejects Kaepernick’s combine comparison
Former NFL player Jack Brewer criticized Kaepernick’s comparison of the NFL combine process to slavery. Brewer told the Washington Examiner that he could not understand the comparison. He also questioned Kaepernick’s criticism, given that the former quarterback has expressed interest in returning to the NFL.
Brewer played defensive back and special teams during his NFL career. The Washington Examiner identified him as a former team captain with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles. His professional career included time with all three teams.
Brewer also discussed his own experience at the NFL combine. He described the process as difficult and said prospects face stress and pressure during the evaluation. Brewer said he understood why NFL teams put prospective players through the combine process.
Brewer recalls pressure during his combine experience
Brewer did not portray his own combine experience as enjoyable. He described the process as miserable and recalled early mornings, physical examinations, stress, and intense pressure to perform. His disagreement with Kaepernick focused on what that difficult environment represented.
Brewer accepted that prospects can face considerable pressure during evaluations but rejected Kaepernick’s comparison between that experience and slavery. Brewer argued that the demanding process reflects pressures players can encounter after reaching professional football. He pointed to injuries, changing playbooks, and the physical demands associated with competing in the NFL.
In Brewer’s view, teams want to understand how prospects respond to difficult situations before making personnel decisions. He said he understood the reasoning behind the evaluation process, even though he did not enjoy experiencing it himself.
NFL combine evaluates hundreds of draft prospects
The NFL Scouting Combine is an annual invitation-only event for draft-eligible college football players. About 300 prospects are invited each year. Participants undergo medical evaluations, interviews, and physical testing while meeting with NFL teams.
Teams use information collected at the combine alongside college performances and other scouting material. Medical examinations are a major part of the evaluation process. Prospects also complete athletic drills and meet with representatives from NFL clubs.
Kaepernick has criticized the way prospects are physically evaluated during the combine and compared the process to slavery. Brewer rejected that comparison while acknowledging that the combine can be difficult. He said the evaluation process helps teams determine how prospects respond to pressure.
Kaepernick’s NFL career provides important debate context
The San Francisco 49ers selected Kaepernick with the 36th overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He later became their starting quarterback and helped San Francisco reach Super Bowl XLVII. NFL records show that Kaepernick appeared in 69 regular-season games during his 6 seasons with the 49ers.
His final NFL regular-season appearance came in 2016. Kaepernick’s career later became closely associated with his national anthem protest against racial injustice and police brutality. He became a free agent after the 2016 season and was not signed by another NFL team.
Kaepernick and former teammate Eric Reid filed grievances alleging collusion by the NFL and its clubs. The parties reached a confidential settlement in 2019 without the league making a public admission of collusion.
Kaepernick releases memoir about career and protest
Kaepernick released his memoir, “The Perilous Fight“, on Sept. 15, 2026. Publisher Legacy Lit describes the book as covering his football career, protest, and experiences that followed. Kaepernick discussed related subjects during a subsequent appearance on “The Pivot“.
In another September interview, Kaepernick said he no longer watches NFL games. He also maintained that the league has prevented him from returning. That is Kaepernick’s allegation rather than an established finding explaining decisions made by individual NFL teams.
Kaepernick and Eric Reid filed grievances alleging that NFL teams colluded to deny them employment. The NFL and the players reached a confidential settlement in 2019. The settlement did not include a public admission by the league that collusion occurred.
Kaepernick and Brewer differ on combine process
Kaepernick has criticized the physical evaluation of prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine. In his 2021 Netflix series, he compared aspects of the process to slavery. He revisited that comparison while discussing his experiences with professional football.
Brewer rejected Kaepernick’s comparison in comments to the Washington Examiner. He acknowledged that the combine can be difficult and stressful for prospects. Brewer said teams use the process to evaluate players before making draft decisions.
The NFL Combine includes medical examinations, interviews, and athletic testing for invited prospects. Teams gather information during the event as part of their draft preparation. Kaepernick and Brewer have expressed different views about what those evaluations represent.
Little-known fact: Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab published the children’s book We Are Free, You & Me on October 1, 2024, through Scholastic and Kaepernick Publishing.
TL;DR
- Kaepernick revisited his NFL Combine and slavery comparison during a September 2026 interview.
- He prominently presented the comparison in his 2021 Netflix series.
- Former NFL captain Jack Brewer rejected Kaepernick’s interpretation.
- Brewer called the combine miserable but said he understands why teams use its demanding evaluation process.
- Kaepernick focuses on what he describes as power dynamics, while Brewer views the combine as a professional evaluation process.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
