Colin Kaepernick's Mom Encouraged Him to Ask Out Taylor Swift, Memoir Reveals

Colin Kaepernick's mother, Teresa, believed he and pop star Taylor Swift would be a perfect match years before Swift began her widely publicized romance with NFL player Travis Kelce. Kaepernick shared this anecdote in his recently published memoir, "Perilous Fight."

"When I was in the NFL, she told me that I should ask out Taylor Swift (long before Travis Kelce made his move) because we would be perfect together," Kaepernick wrote, as reported by the New York Post. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback clarified that while he meant no disrespect to Swift, she was "not [his] type."

Kaepernick played in the NFL from 2011 to 2016. By the time his NFL career concluded, he was in a relationship with radio host Nessa Diab, with whom he welcomed a child in 2022. Diab revealed in August 2025 that they had been married for years.

Swift, meanwhile, began dating Kelce in the summer of 2023. The couple reportedly became engaged in August 2025 and married in July of the following year.

Kaepernick's memoir also touches on his mother's perceptions of his relationships. He recounted an instance where his mother encouraged him to ask a white classmate named Lindsay to a school dance, but later downplayed his attendance with a Black classmate named Crystal to homecoming. According to Kaepernick, his mother hid the portrait from the homecoming event, implying that Lindsay was the type of girl he should pursue, while Crystal was merely a phase.

Kaepernick's time in the NFL ended in 2016 following controversy over his decision to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against racial injustice and police brutality. He was not signed by a team the following year and subsequently filed a grievance against the NFL for collusion, which was settled two years later.