Legacy of Black QBs on the Raiders and in the NFL

Super Bowl 57 featured two Black QBs facing off for the first time ever so we take a dive into the history of Black signal-callers on the Raiders and in the NFL.

One of the big storylines from the Super Bowl was the fact that for the first time ever we had two Black quarterbacks facing each other in the Super Bowl in Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. This was a historic moment for the NFL and it was perfectly appropriate that it took place during Black History Month.

In this piece, we’ll dive into the history of Black QBs in the NFL and of course the storied history of Black QBs on the Raiders.

Most folks can appreciate the historical significance of the Super Bowl moment but plenty of others have flocked to the internet to complain about us bringing race into sports and saying silly things like “ who cares what color these quarterbacks are as long as they’re good enough to do the job”.

This line of thinking is incredibly dismissive to the struggles that Black quarterbacks have faced over the years and still face to this day.

The reason this is such a big deal is because of how hard the road was for these men to get here. For decades, decision-makers in football have contended that black players should be excluded from playing quarterback in the NFL because of the belief that white players would not follow their leadership and the perception that black quarterbacks lack the mental and personality traits to succeed.

Promising black quarterbacks at the high school and college levels were often transitioned at the professional level to other positions, such as running back or wide receiver.