One day after locking down the No. 1 selling jersey in the NFL, Colin Kaepernick is expressing gratitude to his fans and supporters.
The San Francisco 49ers quarterback took to Instagram Wednesday morning and dished out some praise after his jersey sales rose from the depths amid his refusal to stand for the national anthem in an effort to speak out against racial oppression and police brutality.
"I want to thank everyone who has shown me love and support, it truly means a lot!" Kaepernick said on his Instagram account. "I wasn't expecting my jersey sales to jump to number one because of this, but it shows the people's belief that we can achieve justice and equality for ALL!"
As a thank you to those supporters, Kaepernick said that he will reinvest his jersey sale proceeds back into the community. He wasn't more specific than that.
"I believe in the people, and WE can be the change!" Kaepernick said on his Instragram account.
The quarterback has previously stated he will donate the first $1 million of his 2016 earnings to various unnamed community groups.
Since generating a national conversation about patriotism and treatment toward people of color, the 49ers signal caller has drawn support from high-profile athletes, including teammate Eric Reid, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar and women's professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe.
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NHL and Team USA hockey coach John Tortorella sits on the opposite end of that support spectrum.
"If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game," Tortorella told ESPN.
Although jersey sale numbers fluctuate often, Kaepernick's No. 7 was nowhere close to the NFL's top-sellers less than one year ago when he was benched and his jerseys were tagged for the clearance racks, according to a former Mercury News reporter.
