We Can Officially Put To Rest Black QB Narrative In The NFL | Bobby Burack

The corporate and sports media continue to publish headlines about supposed, ongoing discrimination against black quarterbacks in the NFL. The narrative is a lie. It's been a lie for well over a decade. The narrative should've been put to rest years ago. It wasn't.  

But it shall be put to rest today.

Despite what USA Today, ESPN, and Andscape tell us, there is no evidence that a bias against black quarterbacks exists. 

The first two quarterbacks drafted on Thursday were black, in Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels – as was the case last year with Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud. The Falcons also overdrafted Michael Penix Jr. as a project quarterback to succeed Kirk Cousins.

So much for the pre-draft ESPN article warning readers about "the double standard of black quarterback prospects." 

The piece states, without citing specific examples, "When it comes to black quarterbacks in particular, the NFL has long gone out of its way to keep the position as white as the painted yard lines on the field."

We hate to let facts get in the way of a good racial grievance.

Still, we didn't need the 2024 NFL Draft to debunk the hypothesis that those damn white NFL owners are still racist against black quarterbacks. All we had to do was look at the money white owners shell out to black quarterbacks.

The entire argument should've ended in 2022 when the Browns signed Deshaun Watson to an unprecedented, still-league-high $230,000,000 fully guaranteed contract, despite 22 women alleging he sexually assaulted them.

"I’ve been arguing this for a long time, this ends the argument that the NFL is in any way ‘racist’ against black quarterbacks because Deshaun Watson got the largest contract in the history of the NFL while 22 different women are accusing him of sexual assault," Clay Travis said on radio at the time.

If NFL teams were actively looking for excuses to derail black quarterbacks, as Andscape claims here, one would surmise they'd hold sexual assault allegations against them. 

No?

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 25: (L-R) Caleb Williams poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected first overall by the Chicago Bears during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza on April 25, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The upper echelon of the NFL's highest-paid quarterbacks is a revolving door. Per the norm, the latest star quarterback to ink a new deal surpasses the last. However, that echelon has been overwhelmingly black for most of the past five years.

Specifically, six of the seven highest-paid quarterbacks were black last May, when ESPN analyst Domonique Foxworth predicted the NFL would change the rules to make the position white again. 

"Something just hit me, there's gonna be some rule changes in the NFL, they're gonna do something," Foxworth said. "Who's the best quarterback in football? Patrick Mahomes. Who's the two highest-paid players in all the league? Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts. Who are the first three quarterbacks drafted in this draft? black dudes."

"Yep, something's going down. We've got a rule change coming down the pike."

"You might be listening to this and thinking 'Domonique is arguing that the NFL is just flat-out 'I hate black people racist.' No, it's a different type of racism, it's because they think you are 'I hate black people racist,'" Foxworth concluded.

Got it. 

NFL fans "hate black people" so much that the 2023 Super Bowl set an all-time viewership record when two black quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, faced off for the first time. This past AFC Championship Game featuring Mahomes and Lamar Jackson also set several new viewership highs.

Those damn facts keep getting in the way, don't they?

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates with the Lamar Hunt trophy after the Chiefs' game against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

And yet, regardless of the facts, the victimized black quarterback narrative prevailed throughout this past NFL season.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy put forth the best statistical regular season of any quarterback. But former ESPN and HBO host Bomani Jones couldn't help but attribute his success to a system that rewards white players with patience.

"The black quarterback level of this is the lack of patience," said Jones of the 49ers choosing Purdy over Trey Lance and Colin Kaepernick.

Jones and others accused white America of favoring Josh Allen, who, in reality, is one of the most scrutinized players in football.

"When I’m talking about those four guys in the AFC, it’s three black dudes and Josh Allen. So yeah, I do think some people are gonna give Josh Allen too many points," said Jones during the NFL playoffs.

"I’ve talked about some of this before, I do think the NFL has a little bit of a – I don’t want to call it a crisis, but something’s changing that they never had before which is, the best quarterbacks are black.

"It's been the same for six years. unlike any quarterback I've ever seen, people WANT IT for Josh Allen so bad. It's the damnedest thing," he added in a follow-up tweet.

In the inverse, the same racial grievers – Jones, RGIII, Marcus Spears, Dez Bryant, Shannon Sharpe, etc. – pretended as if Lamar Jackson – whom the media rewarded with a second MVP – faced unfair criticism from the media because he's black.  Or as Ryan Clark put it, Jackson is the first true "authentic" black quarterback. 

It's a lie. All of it.

None of those statements are accurate, or close to it.

If the NFL discriminated against black quarterbacks in previous generations, that's awful. Everyone should be glad that is no longer the case. Nonetheless, that is no longer the case. 

Anyone pretending otherwise is willfully denying reality. 

The NFL is the ultimate meritocracy. Owners, coaches, and fans want to win. They want to win at all costs. They want to win instantly, regardless of the skin colors leading them to victory.

Teams draft, support, and pay the quarterbacks who they project can help them win football games. The NFL Draft reaffirmed that. 

The NFL doesn't discriminate against black quarterbacks. The NFL discriminates against losers.