The new Alliance of American Football spoke with Colin Kaepernick during its development about joining the league, co-founder Bill Polian told The Athletic.

According to Polian, AAF CEO Charlie Ebersol reached out to Kaepernick, who has not played in the NFL since 2016, when he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.

"I don't know what transpired, but he's obviously not playing," Polian told The Athletic.

A source told the Associated Press that Kaepernick wanted $20 million or more to consider playing with the league that had its debut last weekend.

All AAF players received three-year, $250,000 nonguaranteed contracts but could earn more via bonuses.

Polian, an ESPN NFL analyst, also told The Athletic that he personally spoke to Tim Tebow about joining the league, but Tebow declined. The former NFL QB currently is in the New York Mets' spring training camp.

The AAF 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.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.