Shannon Sharpe Celebrates Success of Black QBs Amid Jalen Hurts’ Massive $255M Contract: ‘You See What They Can Do’
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts now has the highest annual salary of any football player in NFL history. Shannon Sharpe, co-host of Fox Sports 1’s Undisputed and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said it’s “nothing short of a miracle” looking at how far black QBs have come in the league.
“We see the progress, when given an opportunity, what the black quarterback can do,” Sharpe said on Tuesday’s episode of Undisputed. “We know what was said: ‘Oh man, he can’t think. They can’t process information. He can’t think on his feet fast enough.’ Sometimes, that’s what it was. Sometimes, Skip (Bayless), some owners didn’t want a black to be the face of their organization.
“Whatever the case may be, to see the progression that has transpired with the black quarterback in the NFL is nothing short of a miracle.”
The NFL has a troubled past in regard to its treatment of black quarterbacks and black players in general. As noted in The Guardian, black players were “secretly banned” from the league in the 1930s for fear that white players “would go to extremes to physically disable them.” When black players were allowed in the league, they weren’t allowed to play “thinking” positions like linebacker, center, and quarterback. At the time, it was assumed that black athletes lacked the cognitive function of their white peers.
That past still influences today’s game. In 2021, the NFL vowed to put an end to “race-norming,” a decades-old practice that made it harder for retired black players to qualify for brain injury settlements. The practice once again assumed black players had a lower cognitive function, thus making brain injuries for them seem less severe than brain injuries for white players.
Even black coaches struggle to find work within the league, as noted by Bayless.
“You see what they can do,” Sharpe said. “They can do it. They can win at the highest level. They can throw from the pocket. Because (the narrative) used to be, ‘Oh man, he can’t throw from the pocket.’ Now, you want guys like Patrick Mahomes that can get outside of the pocket and make plays, or like a Jalen Hurts.”
Watch above via Fox Sports 1
