A Look at Every Black Quarterback Who Has Started a Super Bowl

Super Bowl LVII features a number of intriguing storylines, but the biggest one is a historic moment that is long overdue. For the first time in NFL history, two Black starting quarterbacks will be featured in the Super Bowl. The NFL is over a century old, and this is the 57th edition of the Super Bowl, yet Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are the first pair of Black starting QBs to headline the biggest game of the year. The ironic thing that came to me as this fact was stated: Super Bowl LVII is in Arizona, the state that infamously didn't recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday.

For Patrick Lavon Mahomes II, this is business as usual. He has done this Super Bowl thing before; this is his third appearance in the big game. Mahomes (the son of former MLB pitcher Pat Mahomes) started and won Super Bowl LIV three years prior, and returned to the big game a year later, but came up short in Super Bowl LV. For Jalen Alexander Hurts, though, this is his first time in the Super Bowl, and it comes at the University of Alabama alum's second full season as a starting quarterback. In addition, Hurts became the eighth Black QB to start in the Super Bowl, joining quite a historic list that includes Mahomes, who became the seventh three years ago.

So who are the other six? Many NFL fans know them already, but even so, let's take a look at the other six Black QBs who have started in the Super Bowl.

Doug Williams

I mentioned irony earlier. As we know, before the Washington Commanders became the Commanders, they had the infamously racist name for so many decades. Yet despite this, they had the very first Black QB to start a Super Bowl: Doug Williams. Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978--the team's third season in existence. After his controversial release, and following a number of seasons in the USFL, Williams ended up with Washington in 1986, with 1987 being the big year for the team. Washington reached Super Bowl XXII, and regarding Williams, he went 18 for 29, threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns, and threw an interception. QB rating wasn't introduced until 2011, but Williams' QBR for Super Bowl XXII: 127.9. Washington won 42-10 over the Denver Broncos, making Doug Williams not only the first Black QB to start a Super Bowl, but also the first to win one and become SB MVP.

Steve McNair

It would be 12 years before Doug Williams had some company on that short list, and in 1999, he would be joined by Steve McNair. McNair's life and legacy has always been complicated, even now--nearly 14 years after his passing. The details of his death remain the very thing that stands out the most about McNair, but on the positive side, McNair is remembered as one of the two best QBs in the entire history of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (along with Warren Moon), though McNair did something not even Warren Moon could do: get the team to the Super Bowl. 1999 was the dream season, with the Titans' playoff run capped off by the famous "Music City Miracle" on Wild Card Weekend. The Titans reached Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams, but they were defeated 23-16, with the game famously ending with Kevin Dyson being stopped one yard short of the goal line as time ran out. McNair's numbers: 22/36 and 214 yards.

Donovan McNabb

The Philadelphia Eagles made history this year, as they are the first team in NFL history to have had two Black quarterbacks starting the big game. Jalen Hurts is the second, the first was Donovan McNabb, and boy do I remember McNabb's time with the Eagles. The McNabb-led Eagles were always that team in the NFC that was picked to get there and win it all. They reached the NFC Championship every year, and had that game at home a lot, yet for some reason, they lost every time. 2004 changed that, as the Eagles finally got over the hump, thanks to having Terrell Owens as their top receiver, and they reached Super Bowl XXXIX against a New England Patriots team who was looking to repeat and win their third in four years. The Patriots were successful, winning 24-21, and as for McNabb, he went 30/51, threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns, but he threw three interceptions--the third one being caught by Rodney Harrison to clinch the game for the Patriots.

Colin Kaepernick

As a Packers fan, I know Colin Kaepernick as the QB who had our number at the right time. Those of us with common sense know Kaepernick as the QB who was blackballed for being a Black man who was stating the truth and standing up for what's right. NFL history sees Kaepernick as the fourth Black starting QB to reach the Super Bowl, getting to the big game eight years after McNabb did so. Kaepernick's Niners played in Super Bowl XLVII, known as the "HarBowl" due to coaching brothers John and Jim Harbaugh being on opposite sides. The game took place on February 3, 2013, and was also known for a power outage during the game, which was out of reach for the Niners until Kaepernick led a huge comeback attempt. Unfortunately, it was not enough; the Baltimore Ravens survived and won 34-31. Kaepernick went 16/28, threw for 304 yards and a score, but threw a pick. He also scored a rushing TD in that game, an absolutely brilliant performance.

Russell Wilson

Kaepernick's appearance started a four-year stretch of Black QBs starting in the Super Bowl, with the centerpiece of that run being Russell Wilson. After Kaepernick's appearance, Wilson took the Seattle Seahawks to the big game for the second time in franchise history (eight years after their first appearance) and faced off against the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos. Boy, do I remember this Super Bowl. It actually started with a horrendous snap that went over Manning's head, and resulted in a safety for the Seahawks. Some would say the game was over on that play. Those people would be right. What followed was an immense load of discombobulation from the Broncos, allowing Wilson to not have to overwork himself and do his thing. As a result, the Seahawks won, 43-8, and as for Wilson, he became the second Black QB to start and win the Super Bowl, as well as become Super Bowl MVP (the aforementioned Patrick Mahomes would be the third).

Wilson went 18/25 and threw for 206 yards and 2 TDs, resulting in a 123.1 QB rating, which is just a hair below Doug Williams' QBR in Super Bowl XXII. He would lead the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl a year later, making him the first Black QB to start more than one Super Bowl (Mahomes would be the second). This time, the Seahawks were defeated, 24-21, by the New England Patriots, and regarding Wilson, he went 12/21, threw for 241 and two scores, but also threw the interception that cost Seattle the big game.

Cam Newton

The most recent Black starting QB to play in the big game (prior to Mahomes and Hurts) was Cam Newton, as he led the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl 50. This was the Panthers' second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, having reached Super Bowl XXXVIII 12 years prior. The Panthers faced off against the Denver Broncos, who were still led by Peyton Manning, but I remember the build up to the game, and it looked like it would be a mismatch. It would be, but it also wasn't at the same time. The Broncos won, 24-10, in a game where neither QB had their best stuff. Newton went 18/41 and threw for 265 yards and an interception. He finished with a QBR of 55.4, which was barely lower than Peyton's QBR of 56.6.

That's the list; those six QBs, with Patrick Mahomes becoming the seventh in Super Bowl LIV, and Jalen Hurts becoming the eighth this season. This moment in Super Bowl LVII is decades in the making. For too long, Black QBs have been overly criticized and demonized; even now, we're seeing QBs such as Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray picked on for "not playing the game the right way" and being dismissed as QBs. Yet against all odds, against all of the racism hurled towards Black QBs for decades, the biggest game of the year will see two Black QBs take center stage as starters. Either Mahomes will become the first Black QB to win two Super Bowls, or Hurts will become the fourth Black QB to win one. Either way, we are watching history here--history that is long overdue for a group that has been heavily and unfairly criticized for decades in the NFL.