The National Football League said Thursday it would commit $250 million over the next 10 years to fight systematic racism against black people in the United States.

The money will go towards assisting social and racial equality projects as well as provide greater access to education and other opportunities, the league said in a news release.

"The NFL is growing our social justice efforts through a 10-year total $250 million fund to combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans," the league said.

"The NFL and our clubs will continue to work collaboratively with NFL players to support programs to address criminal justice reform, police reforms, and economic and educational advancement."

The commitment tops the nearly $90 million the NFL pledged in 2017 over seven years to social justice causes. That plan was the result of negotiations between NFL owners and the players following Colin Kaepernick-led national anthem protests during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The National Football League is committing $250 million over the next decade to fighting racism against blacks in America
The National Football League is committing $250 million over the next decade to fighting racism against blacks in America GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Tim Bradbury

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declared "Black Lives Matter" in a video last week and a posting on the league's website Thursday said the league is open to working with Kaepernick on the new plan.

"It would be awesome to engage Colin on some of the work we are doing," an unidentified official said. "He's doing real impactful work. Getting him in some way would be amazing for us. There's a lot of work to do to get to that point. We're certainly open and willing to do that."

Kaepernick was the first NFL player to begin protesting in 2016, refusing to stand for the US national anthem as a way of drawing attention to racial injustice and police brutality.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was subsequently released by the team in early 2017 and has not played in the NFL since, later alleging he had been blackballed by the league. Kaepernick reached an undisclosed settlement with the NFL in 2019 and withdrew his grievance.

Last week, after a group of star African-American players demanded action from the league, Goodell said the league had been wrong for not listening to players earlier and encouraged the players to speak out.

Racism