Colin Kaepernick is the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary ‘Just Do It’ campaign

Nike is making former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell broke the news on Twitter:

Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the company’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign.

Here’s the first image, posted by Kaepernick to his social media pages. It features the text “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything” over a close-up of his face.

Kaepernick’s deal with Nike is a “wide endorsement,” according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo. That includes a branded line of apparel, including shoes, shirts, jerseys and more. The deal with Kaepernick is a “star” deal, on par with “a top end NFL player,” per Robinson.

The NFL released a statement on Tuesday regarding Kaepernick, in which they say ... not a whole lot at all, when you really look at it:

“The National Football League believes in dialogue, understanding and unity. We embrace the role and responsibility of everyone involved with this game to promote meaningful, positive change in our communities,” said Jocelyn Moore, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs. “The social justice issues that Colin and other professional athletes have raised deserve our attention and action.”

And hey, while you’re here, below is a list of work my colleagues have done about Colin Kaepernick that is worthy of your time to read or re-read.

Recently Tyler Tynes has written about Kaepernick’s collusion lawsuit against the NFL:

What happens next in Colin Kaepernick’s case against the NFL? A lawyer explains
And it’s been two years since Kaepernick first started to protest during the national anthem in 2016. A lot has happened since then, but it’s important to look back for a full picture: