A Black QB Guaranteed to win SuperBowl LVII

A Black QB Guaranteed to win Super Bowl LVII after Doug Williams’s Win 35 Years Ago. Patrick Mahomes, QB for the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs, and Jalen Hurts, QB for the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles will start in Super Bowl LVII this Sunday, and continue the legacy that Doug Williams started nearly four decades ago. Mahomes and Hurts will lead their teams in pursuit of this year’s Super Bowl Championship.
Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl on January 31, 1988, changed a narrative that Black quarterbacks couldn’t lead a team to a title and became a folk hero. Williams was the first, a designation that still resonates. He led Washington to a 42-10 win over the Denver Broncos, throwing four touchdown passes and earning MVP honors.

Two more Black quarterbacks have won the Super Bowl since, Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, and Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. Only seven Black quarterbacks have started in a Super Bowl before this year, despite Black athletes comprising the majority of the league. It took 26 years after Williams before the next Black quarterback, Wilson emerged from a Super Bowl victorious.

“To have two Black quarterbacks start in the Super Bowl, I think it’s special,” Mahomes told reporters on Thursday. “I’ve learned more and more about the history of the Black quarterback since I’ve been in this league. The guys that came before me and Jalen set the stage for this and now, I’m just glad we can set the stage for kids that are coming up now. It’ll be a great game against two great teams and against another great quarterback. I’m excited to go out there and do what we can against a great team.”

“I think you’ve seen over time,” Mahomes said, “whenever a guy like Doug Williams or Michael Vick or Donovan McNabb go out and play great football it gives other guys like me and Jalen this platform and have this spot on another NFL team. If we can continue to show that we can consistently be great, I think it will continue to open doors for other kids growing up to follow their dreams and be a quarterback of an NFL team. It’s good we have guys like Jalen on the other team because he’s a great person and obviously a great quarterback.”

“I think it’s history,” Hurts said in his press conference. “I think it’s something that’s worthy of being noted and it is history. It’s come a long way. I think it’s only been seven African American quarterbacks to play in the Super Bowl, so to be the first for something is pretty cool. I know it will be a good one.”

Williams has won on and off the field his entire career. Williams has been a college head coach (Grambling State, two different stints), an NFL scout (Jacksonville Jaguars) and an NFL executive (Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders). He has been with Washington since 2014, now serving as a senior advisor. He has accomplished a lot in a career that, following his playing days at Grambling State, started in 1978 with Tampa Bay as the first Black quarterback drafted in the first round.

Williams helped organize the inaugural HBCU Legacy Bowl, featuring HBCU football All-Stars, last year along with former NFL quarterback legend James Harris. The Legacy Bowl was sponsored by Patrick Mahomes. Williams along with Harris founded the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Super Bowl LVII is expected to be a tremendous game featuring two of the NFL’s exciting young and athletic QB’s. One thing is for sure…. you can bet on Black!