NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, along with several owners and at least two other NFL executives, will be deposed and asked to turn over all cellphone records and emails in relation to the Colin Kaepernick collusion case against the NFL, a league source told ESPN.
NFL owners who will also be deposed include Dallas' Jerry Jones, New England's Robert Kraft, Houston's Bob McNair, Seattle's Paul Allen and San Francisco's Jed York.
Owners were selected for depositions based on their public statements about Kaepernick or player protests during the national anthem.
Other league executives who will be deposed include executive vice president/football operations Troy Vincent and senior vice president of player engagement Arthur McAfee, per a league source.
Jones said he was aware of the suit only through news reports and that he has not been officially contacted by Kaepernick's legal team. Jones said he would do whatever he is advised to do.
Kaepernick's attorney said in October that the free-agent quarterback had filed a grievance under the collective bargaining agreement alleging collusion against signing him to an NFL contract.
The filing, which demands an arbitration hearing on the matter, says the NFL and its owners "have colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick's leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States."
After filing the grievance, Kaepernick tweeted that he did so "only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.''
Kaepernick drew national attention last season when he knelt during the national anthem before games to protest social injustice. His kneeling led to a movement that has spread throughout the league while also being vilified by others, including President Donald Trump.
Kaepernick has not been with an NFL team since severing his contract with the 49ers in March. Sources told ESPN at the time that Kaepernick would stand during the anthem in 2017.