Preliminary conversations about a potential settlement have gone nowhere, sources said, and the NFL and NFLPA are deep in discussions finalizing the specifics of Colin Kaepernick's collusion grievance hearing against the league, multiple sources said.
The process is tentatively scheduled for early 2019 in Philadelphia, sources said, with the various parties involved and Kaepernick's legal team continuing to hash out the final details. They continue to finalize the schedule of events and have been in discussions with the bevy of NFL luminaries required to testify, putting together a template of what a two-week calendar will look like with many of those involved having other commitments and responsibilities.
Sources said the process is expected to last at least two weeks and the hearings will take place at an upscale hotel in the Philadelphia area. Stephen Burbank, the system arbitrator for cases of this magnitude in the NFL, is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and while the hearings will not take place on campus, they will be nearby.
In some cases, potential witnesses may have to undergo their questioning and cross-examination via satellite or other means, as there are numerous logistics to juggle. Kaepernick's legal team will depose many NFL owners, general managers and coaches -- many of whom they have already questioned -- as well as prominent officials from the NFL offices including the commissioner. Two of the owners that were set to be a part of this process have passed away -- Seahawks owner Paul Allen and Texans owner Bob McNair -- but recorded depositions of them from the discovery process could be admitted.
Kaepernick continues to work out daily in hopes of an opportunity to audition for an NFL team again, sources said. His agents have reached out to NFL personnel on a weekly basis throughout each of the last two seasons seeking an opportunity to come in for a try-out, or to throw for NFL scouts at another location, but they have yet to receive an opportunity to do so.
While the exact schedule for the hearing is still being worked on, it is very likely to begin in early February at the latest.
