The People Still Want Colin Kaepernick Even if the NFL Doesn't

Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned to an NFL team. He’s supposedly finished as a player. But someone forgot to tell actual fans they were supposed to shun him.

It turns out that Kaepernick’s jersey is still among the league’s top sellers, as the Los Angeles Times first reported.

According to the NFL Shop, which just released its numbers for the top-selling apparel for the month of May, Kaepernick’s 49ers jersey ranks 17th—higher than most of his (currently employed) peers.

Only seven quarterbacks ranked higher than Kaepernick, who outsold the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, the Panthers’ Cam Newton, and New Orleans’ Drew Brees, among others.

Many believe that Kaepernick, who is unlikely to play in the 2017–2018 season, has been blackballed by the NFL for his widely publicized police brutality protest last year. His peaceful protest, which involved taking a knee during the national anthem, caught on across the country, inspiring professional and student athletes to make their own statements.

But money talks, and in continuing to buy Kaepernick’s No. 7, fans are sending a clear message of their own.