Kaepernick partners with Disney for documentary series, other content

Disney is partnering with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to deliver “scripted and unscripted stories” exploring race and social justice, including a documentary series chronicling Kaepernick’s life, the company announced Monday.

The company added that a first-look deal with Kaepernick’s production-company, Ra Vision Media, would focus on stories about racial injustice while also offering a platform for Black producers and directors.

The deal will extend across Disney platforms, including ESPN, Hulu, Pixar and The Undefeated, a site dedicated to exploring the intersection of race, culture and sports. Kaepernick will work closely with The Undefeated as part of the partnership, Disney said.

The first project, which is already in development, will use new interviews and archival footage to portray Kaepernick’s life from the former NFL quarterback’s perspective, the company said, adding that Kaepernick tapped former ESPN broadcaster Jemele Hill to be a producer for the project.

Hill, now a contributing writer at The Atlantic, left ESPN in 2018 following a controversy over her tweets about President Trump.

“I am excited to announce this historic partnership with Disney across all of its platforms to elevate Black and Brown directors, creators, storytellers, and producers, and to inspire the youth with compelling and authentic perspectives. I look forward to sharing the docuseries on my life story, in addition to many other culturally impactful projects we are developing,” Kaepernick said in a statement.

Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger added that Kaepernick’s experience gives him a “unique perspective on the intersection of sports, culture and race, which will undoubtedly create compelling stories that will educate, enlighten and entertain, and we look forward to working with him on this important collaboration.”

Kaepernick in 2016 became the first professional athlete to take a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. The demonstration has been widely replicated in the ensuing years, but Kaepernick has yet to sign with an NFL team since the conclusion of the 2016 season.

Kaepernick sued the league in 2018 claiming teams were colluding to keep him out. The NFL reached a settlement with him last year and has since expressed support for players’ rights to peacefully protest. 

In recent years, Kaepernick has gradually expanded his media footprint. He formed a publishing company in 2019 and last month joined the board of directors at Medium. The streaming giant Netflix also announced in June that Kaepernick’s activism as a teenager would be the subject of a new documentary from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

Kaepernick is also planning to release a memoir later this year as part of multiproject deal with Audible, the audiobook company owned by Amazon. Kaepernick has said that the book will provide many unanswered questions on the protests he’s conducted.

“I’ve had a lot of questions surrounding what got me to the point of protesting,” he told USA Today in February. “Why did I do it? Why did I do it at that moment? Why wasn’t it earlier in my career? A lot of questions surrounding what led me to that point. Which led me to wanting to share that story and give insight. So I think there’s a lot of interest around it, but time will tell when the book comes out.”