The relationship between hip-hop icon Jay-Z and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is souring further, with Kaepernick saying the rapper’s recent impromptu diss about him at a sold out stadium concert speaks to the guilt over his partnerships with entities that have poor records on race relations, including retailers walking back diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The billionaire rapper and Roc Nation founder once appeared to have a strong alliance with the athlete. The two connected after Kaepernick drew global attention in 2016 for kneeling during the national anthem before games with his then-team, the San Francisco 49ers — a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.
In 2017, Jay-Z asked Kaepernick to kneel onstage during a performance of “The Story of O.J.,” as he recounts but Kaepernick declined. The two later tried to connect by phone to partner on social justice issues. By then, Kaepernick was a quarterback with no team, and had turned to criminal justice reform advocacy, high-profile legal defense funding, documentary storytelling and educational philanthropy.
Any alliance between the two men began to crack when it was announced that Roc Nation had partnered with the NFL, co-curating the Super Bowl Halftime Show and advising on the league’s Inspire Change social justice initiative. Jay-Z addressed Kaepernick and his protest movement at the press conference announcing the deal.
“I think we’ve moved past kneeling. I think it’s time for action,” he told the media at the time. “We forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice. In that case, this is a success. This is the next phase.”
Backlash followed, with critics noting Jay-Z took the NFL deal while Kaepernick remained unemployed, as no team appeared willing to sign the political lightning rod. Kaepernick says in his book that he learned of the deal from Jay-Z only after the contracts had been signed, and that he was displeased.
“I just want you to know, one, you’re serving the culture up to a bunch of racists and, two, they don’t care about you,” Kaepernick recalls telling Jay-Z. “You’re the music guy to them. They quite literally need a Black face — and have said as much.”
More recently, the two men made opposite choices regarding the retailer Target, which drew controversy after it scaled back its DEI commitments. Jay-Z struck a deal for Target to carry an exclusive edition of his 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Kaepernick, meanwhile, will not be selling his forthcoming memoir at Target.
Things stayed quiet until Jay-Z ran concerts at Yankee Stadium this summer, where he delivered an improvised verse referencing Kaepernick’s settlement with the NFL over a collusion lawsuit tied to his blackballing from the league.
“They run out of characters, had to bring [Kaepernick] back up again,” Jay-Z said, referring to critics of his Target deal. “Buddy took a check, I ain’t even mad at him, but along with that check you have to sign a non-disparagement. I’m the one [the NFL] can’t control.”
Kaepernick responded in a lengthy sit-down with NBC News’ Lester Holt, which aired this week.
“First and foremost, what it speaks to is the power of people,” he told the network. “The backlash that [Jay-Z] received for partnering with the NFL and going counter to people’s interests in 2019 was a major problem for him, so much so that he’s still bringing it up in 2026.”
“People are now realizing, ‘Why are you so comfortable stepping into these positions that are counter to the positions that people on the ground actually want?’ And to me, I view that as speaking to a guilty conscience and trying to reposition or reframe the conversation,” Kaepernick said, adding that the rapper is a different man since the NFL deal.
“He has built the alignment with the NFL, the NFL that has blackballed me, the same NFL that, in a players-owners meeting in 2017, said we need a Black face to help us get rid of the protests,” Kaepernick told NBC News.
The NFL has long denied Kaepernick’s claims of blackballing.
“I understand why he’s trying to do reputational recovery. I get it. I don’t agree with the actions, but I’m also not gonna respond to everything that’s said about me, because I also believe the actions and the work that I do will speak for themselves.”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Jay-Z’s reps for comment but did not hear back.