Jay-Z namedropped former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a recent freestyle during his show at Yankee Stadium. Jay-Z is doing three shows at Yankee Stadium from July 10 to July 12 to celebrate the anniversaries of his albums, ‘Reasonable Doubt’ (30 years) and ‘The Blueprint’ (25 years).
He previously delivered a freestyle at the 2026 Roots Picnic in May and took shots at several people. However, during the Yankee Stadium show, he focused on Colin Kaepernick.
“You picking & choosing the politicking as usual, they digging deep for narratives, it’s embarrassing, they running outta characters, had to bring back up Kaep again,” Jay-Z rapped.
The clip from his freestyle where he mentions Colin Kaepernick has gone viral. Fans are divided on the subject as some believe Jay-Z has the right to speak his mind, while others claim he’s trying to get control over the narrative.
In February 2019, Colin Kaepernick and the NFL reached a confidential settlement resolving his collusion grievance, which alleged that team owners blackballed him for kneeling during the national anthem. The exact financial terms are undisclosed.
“In a freestyle last night, Jay Z says Colin Kaepernick signed an NDA with the NFL in his 2019 confidential settlement with the league. Jay Z partners with the league as the official live music entertainment strategist through Roc Nation,” Jonathan Jones, lead NFL insider for CBS, reported.
This was more than just a name-drop from the $2.8 billion (according to Forbes) worth rapper because he shares a long history with Colin Kaepernick and the NFL.
Explaining Jay-Z and Colin Kaepernick’s Alleged Feud
Jay-Z was among the most prominent public figures to support Colin Kaepernick after the former NFL quarterback began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
The rapper publicly backed Kaepernick’s message, even wearing his jersey during his SNL performance. Due to his open support for Kaepernick, Jay-Z was seen as an ally of the movement, but that perception changed in 2019 when his Roc Nation entered into a partnership with the NFL to produce major events, including the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The partnership drew criticism because Kaepernick remained unsigned, with many believing he had been effectively blackballed by the NFL for his protests. At the same time, Jay-Z’s partnership with the league was seen as him trying to dissociate with Colin Kaepernick’s movement.
Even though Kaepernick never directly addressed the issue, his wife, Nessa Diab, talked about it after the Roc Nation-NFL deal.
“We will never turn our backs on @kaepernick7 because your idols decided to work with the same organization that is actively keeping Colin unemployed all because he peacefully protested against social injustice in black and brown communities, specifically police brutality. So really, how can Jay-Z and the NFL utter social justice in their partnership while keeping Colin unemployed because of his social justice work?” she wrote on Instagram.
Since then, it’s been an ongoing debate over whether meaningful change is better pursued by working within powerful institutions or by continuing to challenge them from the outside.
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