Dale Earnhardt Jr., Colin Kaepernick Reportedly Eyed for ‘DWTS’

Dancing With the Stars‘ upcoming athletes-only season hasn’t named any cast members yet, but there are reportedly two people at the top of producers’ lists: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Colin Kaepernick.

An anonymous source told Hollywood Life that the two A-list athletes are the foremost names producers for the ABC series want to attract, with more top-tier sports stars following suite.

Earnhardt retired from NASCAR after this past season, so his schedule should be presumably clear. Kaepernick could also have free time, being he has not been picked up by an NFL team in the wake of his police brutality protests that have stirred up conversation nationwide.

“The show really wants to make a splash and they really want to get some major sports stars on next season and the top two on their list are Colin Kaepernick and Dale Earnhardt [Jr.],” the source said. “Dale is retiring from NASCAR and they have wanted him for years and have asked forever for him to dance on the show and having Colin is just obvious with him being in the news for all the guy’s activism.”

While the two would usually seem too out-of-the-question for a normal DWTS season, this upcoming season will be abbreviated. This shorter time frame of commitment could open the door to the athletes competing on the show.

“The stories they could both share would be amazing and having the show only go four weeks, producers feel that they can get these big names because they don’t have to commit to a long process and timeframe,” the source said. “The show is very [confident] that they can pull it off and are working hard to make it happen.”

Earnhardt and Kaepernick join the only other rumored name thus far, former NBA player Kobe Bryant.

Photo Credit: Getty / Chris Trotman