A report from the Associated Press out Thursday says former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was approached in the past about playing in the Alliance of American Football but countered by saying he wanted at least $20 million to consider playing in the recently-formed league.

The news was reported by the AP's Barry Wilner, who cited a source speaking on the condition of anonymity due to neither Kaepernick or the AAF publicly acknowledging the talks. Lindsay Jones of The Athletic reported earlier Thursday day that AAF co-founder Bill Polian told her Kaepernick had been contacted by league CEO Charlie Ebersol but that he wasn't aware of what transpired when the two sides talked.

According to figures from Spotrac.com, a salary of $20 million would rank 16th on yearly average among NFL quarterbacks as of February 14, above Ryan Tannehill ($19.25 million), Case Keenum ($18 million) and Blake Bortles ($18 million) and just below Eli Manning ($21 million), Philip Rivers ($20.8 million) and Cam Newton ($20.76 million).

Kaepernick, 31, last played football in 2016. He opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March of 2017, a parting that was inevitable given the expectation the 49ers would have released him had he remained with the team. Kaepernick would have had a base salary of $14.5 million and a cap number of over $19 million for the 2017 season under his last contract.

NFL teams haven't shown much interest in Kaepernick's services since his last days with the 49ers. The Ravens took a look in Kaepernick's direction in the summer of 2017, while Seahawks reportedly kicked the tires in April of 2018, but by and large things have remained mostly quiet in terms of his chances of finding an NFL team. Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in October of 2017, alleging the league colluded to keep him off the field in response to his decision to kneel during the national anthem.

Kaepernick's friend Eric Reid, who was the first player to join him in kneeling during the national anthem, told reporters earlier this week his "hope tank in on E" when it comes to Kaepernick landing a new NFL contract. Reid filed a collusion lawsuit himself against the NFL in 2018 after being slow to find a new team in free agency but landed a three-year extension worth $22 million on February 11 after playing on a one-year deal last season. He told reporters he felt his new contract supports the collusion case he was trying to make in 2018.

“If anything, it proves my point from last year,” Reid said, per Market Watch. “I didn’t sign until the (fourth) week and did for almost the league minimum. And this year I signed a more substantial contract. And nothing has changed. I’m still the same player.”

The AAF debuted to a positive reception on Saturday, February 9, and features a number of former NFL players hoping to get a chance to make their way back to the league. Wilner also reported that the AAF contacted former Broncos and Jets quarterback Tim Tebow about playing in the league but Tebow declined, opting to continue his career in baseball.