Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality and racial oppression by sitting during the national anthem during the 2016 NFL preseason. A timeline of his career shows he signed a $126 million extension in 2014 but was benched in November 2015 before the protests began. Photographer Jennifer Lee Chan captured the first viral image of him sitting on the bench, which some observers initially interpreted as the behavior of a disgruntled player rather than a political statement.