The NFL’s 2024 season begins tonight with a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, a battle between last year’s AFC Championships teams and two of the best quarterbacks in the league in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
And in case you didn’t know, they’re both Black, a characteristic that’s on full display this season.
This year, the league will field 15 Black starting quarterbacks in Week 1:
Jacoby Brissett (New England Patriots)
Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
Russell Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
This list of signal callers breaks the record of 14 Week 1 starting Black QBs set last year.
Leading the pack is Mahomes, a 2x NFL MVP and 3x Super Bowl Champion. He and Jackson, also a 2x league MVP, are at the top of the list and share and interesting stat.
The two are the only two QBs drafted in the past 10 years to win NFL MVP. They each won it twice and both did it in only their second season.
Mahomes, drafted in 2017, won MVP in 2018 and 2022; Lamar, drafted in 2018, won MVP in 2019 and 2023.
They are followed by veterans and rising young stars, including the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Texans’ CJ Stroud and the Packers’ Jordan Love, who faces Hurts and the Eagles on Friday in Brazil.
There are two rookies on the list, the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels and the number one overall pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, Caleb Williams.
There’s also the Cardinals’ Kyle Murray, the Colts’ Anthony Richardson, and the Panthers Bryce Young, young players who are looking to bounce back from injury (the former) and a poor season (the latter).
In Cleveland, Deshaun Watson is trying to prove that his trade wasn’t the worst in NFL history while in Pittsburgh, Russell Wilson is trying to show the doubters that he still has what it takes to get the Steelers back to the playoffs while keeping Justin Fields on the bench.
In Seattle, Geno Smith wants to bounce back after a 2023 dip in production while Jacoby Brissett looks to put New England on a new path after the end of the Bill Belichick era.
And then there’s the much maligned and discussed Dak Prescott, who seems to get ripped every season no matter what he does. Dak is waiting on his big payday after teammate CeeDee Lamb got his.
But the Blackening of the NFL is, more significantly, happening on the headset and in the boardroom.
There are six Black head coaches this season:
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans are the three returning coaches.
Newly hired Antonio Pierce of the Raiders, Raheem Morris of the Falcons and Jarod Mayo of the Patriots will try to inject new life into their respective teams.
The management suite is equally as impressive, with 7 Black GMS and 4 Black team Presidents:
Atlanta Falcons- Terry Fonteno, GM
Baltimore Ravens- Sachi Brown, President
Chicago Bears- Kevin Warren, President & CEO; Ryan Poles, GM
Cleveland Browns- Andrew Berry, GM
Denver Broncos- Damani Leech, President
Detroit Lions- Brad Holmes, GM
Las Vegas Raiders- Sandra Douglass Morgan, President
Miami Dolphins- Chris Grier, GM
Minnesota Vikings- Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, GM
Tennessee Titans- Ran Carthon, GM
Most impressively, this season the NFL features 13 Black team owners including:
Atlanta Falcons- Warrick Dunn, Will Packer, Dominique Dawes, Rosalind Brewer, Rashaun Williams
Denver Broncos- Mellody Hobson, Lewis Hamilton, Condoleezza Rice
Miami Dolphins- Serena Williams, Venus Williams
Pittsburgh Steelers- John Stallworth
Washington Commanders- Magic Johnson, Eric Holoman
This season will be another exciting one in the NFL, but it will be even more historic thanks to the growth in Black leadership both on and off the field.
