Colin Kaepernick To Be The Face Of Nike's 'Just Do It' 30th Anniversary Campaign

Colin Kaepernick may not be currently signed to an NFL team, but he definitely scored a big coup with Nike.

The sportswear manufacturer has announced that it has chosen Kaepernick to be the face of its 30th anniversary Just do it campaign, according to The Hollywood Reporter .

The new ad features the tagline Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt.

Kaepernick has not played for an NFL team since 2016, when he began a wave of protests by NFL players by kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

The protests he inspired have polarized many sports fans and inspired President Donald Trump to urge NFL owners to suspend or fire players who demonstrate during the anthem.

Kaepernick may have not been signed to a football team, but ESPN reporter Darren Rovell said that Nike has been paying Kaepernick throughout the controversy.

BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the companys 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5

Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Darren Rovell","author_url":"https://twitter.com/darrenrovell","cache_age":86400,"description":"BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the companys 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5 Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":694,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmMWwnRVsAAOTRs.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1242,"title":"Darren Rovell on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/1036697374452867072","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5b8d9114e4b0162f4725f609","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/colin-kaepernick-nike-anniversary-campaign_n_5b8d9114e4b0162f4725f609","entryTagsList":"colin-kaepernick,national-football-league,national-anthem-protest,nike-inc,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"sports","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"black-voices,politics,style,us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.sports","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":5},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5b8d9114e4b0162f4725f609","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Colin Kaepernick","slug":"colin-kaepernick","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/colin-kaepernick","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/colin-kaepernick","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/colin-kaepernick"},"relegenceId":3033763,"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"Colin Kaepernick","slug":"colin-kaepernick","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/colin-kaepernick"},{"name":"national football league","slug":"national-football-league","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/national-football-league","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/national-football-league","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/national-football-league"},"section":{"title":"Sports","slug":"sports"},"topic":{"title":"NFL","slug":"nfl","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/nfl"},{"name":"national anthem protest","slug":"national-anthem-protest","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/national-anthem-protest","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/national-anthem-protest","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/national-anthem-protest"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Taking A Knee","slug":"taking-a-knee","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/taking-a-knee"},{"name":"Nike, Inc.","slug":"nike-inc","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/nike-inc","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/nike-inc","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/nike-inc"},"department":{"name":"Impact","slug":"impact"},"section":{"title":"Business","slug":"business"},"topic":{"title":"Nike","slug":"nike","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/impact/topic/nike"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the companys 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5
Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

The Kaepernick campaign is brave of Nike, considering that it makes all NFL uniforms and the ads might put the company at odds with people who see the protests as anti-military or anti-flag.

The campaign comes on the heels of a decision by an arbitrator to let Kaepernick take his grievance with the NFL to trial. The quarterback is alleging that NFL owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests against social injustice.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Related