Topic summary
Black quarterback
Extracted from the Wikipedia article List of Black starting NFL quarterbacks.
Although Black quarterbacks and other quarterbacks of color vary in physical size and playing style, racial stereotyping persists. A 2015 study found that even when controlling for various factors, Black quarterbacks are twice as likely to be "benched", or removed from play, as white quarterbacks. Other studies have found that sports broadcasters are more likely to attribute a Black quarterback's success to superior athletic attributes and a white quarterback's success to superior intellect. It was not until 2017, when the New York Giants started Geno Smith in place of the benched Eli Manning, that all 32 active NFL teams had started at least one Black quarterback. That year, nearly 70% of NFL players, but only 25% of starting quarterbacks, were Black. 16 of the league's 32 starting quarterbacks were Black at the start of the 2025 NFL season, the most in a single week in NFL history.