Colin Kaepernick Should Call UFL If He Still Wants To Play, League Exec Says

If Colin Kaepernick wants to put some tape together for an NFL return, there’s one league open to giving him that platform — ’cause UFL exec Doug Whaley says if the quarterback came calling, they’d listen.

Whaley — the UFL’s senior vice president of player personnel — spoke with TMZ Sports this week … right ahead of the 2025-26 NFL season, which will mark nearly nine years since Kaepernick last played in the league.

The UFL (United Football League) has built a reputation for giving players and coaches a platform to develop their way to the NFL. So, we asked whether Kaepernick — who hasn’t played since his national anthem demonstration — would be welcome to go a similar route.

“He hasn’t reached out to us, so it was one of those things where we’ve seen that, and he knows we’re here, so if he really wants it, we would listen,” Whaley said. “It’d cost us nothing to listen.”

“There are avenues for him, not only with us, but CFL. There are other avenues that if he wanted to put recent game tape out there, he could have a chance to do it.”

Kaepernick was a solid quarterback who got his starting spot with the 49ers after Alex Smith suffered an injury in the 2012 season. He earned 85 touchdowns (13 on the ground) as the Niners’ starter … and broke several records, including most rushing yards by a QB in a single game (181).

He guided the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans … but after opting out of his contract ahead of the 2017 season, he hasn’t played in the pros since.