A person with knowledge of the conversation tells The Associated Press that the new Alliance of American Football spoke with Colin Kaepernick during its development about joining the league.
But Kaepernick wanted $20 million or more to consider playing with the league that had its debut last weekend.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither side has publicly acknowledged such talks.
The Alliance says its mission is to provide opportunities for players not in the NFL to continue their careers, with a possibility they could entice NFL teams to sign them once the AAF season concludes at the end of April.