Normally it's not news when a professional athlete gets a new tattoo. But when it comes to body art, Colin Kaepernick isn't just another pro athlete.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is somewhat of a tattoo trailblazer, and ever since his tattoos were criticized by a newspaper columnist, Kaepernick's ink has been the subject of significant intrigue.

That's why it was a big deal when, last month, it was announced that Kaepernick would become the first player to have his body art included in a Madden video game.

Hopefully it's not too late to add one more tattoo.

Fresh off of signing a six-year extension potentially worth $126 million, Kaepernick added a new tattoo to his torso which has biblical imagery symbolizing "money is the root of all evil." The art is a reference to a verse in the Bible, Timothy 6:10.

Here's a photo of the elaborate ink:

Kaepernick got the tattoo done over three sittings of about nine hours each at a shop in Los Angeles. Tattoo artist Carlos Torres said Kaepernick reached out to him on Instagram after being referred by a friend.

"The side of the ribs are a painful area," Torres told TMZ, "but Colin laid there like a rock."

The tattoo is most likely meant as motivation for Kaepernick, who doesn't want fans to think he's letting up after cashing in on his success over the past year and a half. As we've seen before, Kaepernick goes to extreme lengths to motivate himself.

His tattoos, especially, serve as reminders to Kaepernick.

"It blows my mind that people still think tattoos are just gang-related, or have negative connotations," Kaepernick told Peter King last summer. “So many people have tattoos because their family's been through something [...] or it’s a situation they’ve been through that’s made them stronger, and they want to make sure they remember it forever. I don’t think people fully understand how deeply people believe in their tattoos.”

Naturally, Kaepernick received flak about his new body art and responded on his Twitter page:


Money seems to be a theme this offseason for Kaepernick, who not only signed the mega-deal but also donned socks featuring dollar bill prints when he signed the contract.