ESPN’s ‘The Undefeated’ Slams NFL As Racist, Ignores That The Four Highest-Paid Quarterbacks Are Black

In a piece titled, “Justin Fields And The Double Standard Of Black Quarterback Prospects,” Martenzie Johnson claimed that black quarterbacks are treated unfairly, using Justin Field’s draft stock as evidence.

Writing for “The Undefeated,” which is owned by ESPN, Johnson claimed that “The NFL draft process displayed how race plays a part in evaluating talent.”“Make no mistake, Fields will be one of the first five quarterbacks taken in the draft. But the fact that he started the college season as the consensus No. 2 quarterback prospect, before inexplicably dropping as low as the fifth quarterback at times in some mock drafts — behind two white players with lesser pedigrees — is an indictment of an antiquated system as it pertains to Black quarterbacks,” Johnson argued.

“But anyone who has been following professional football shouldn’t be surprised by this. Race has always been a justification for barring Black players from playing certain positions, coaching or managing teams, or even playing in the sport altogether,” he later claimed.

Then, Johnson argued that the “entire football-industrial complex” is a “racial institution.”“We can leave the draft evaluating to the experts, but with zero explanation, two white quarterbacks with comparable or lesser resumes than Fields were suddenly can’t-miss picks. Whether that is true is irrelevant; it’s more about what happened to Fields since he declared for the draft that exposes the draft process – and the entire football-industrial complex – for the, let’s say, racial institution that it is,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson later added that “when it comes to Black quarterbacks in particular, the NFL has long gone out of its way to keep the position as white as the painted yard lines on the field.”

“Quarterbacks are expected to be smart, rational decision-makers who command a team and act as the de facto coach on the field. Accuracy and strong arms are a plus, but it mostly comes down to what’s between your ears rather than any other physical attribute. As the authors of The Bell Curve would have you believe, few Black men possess those attributes,” Johnson claimed.

Unfortunately for Johnson, the reality of the NFL suggests otherwise. During the opening weekend of the 2020/2021 season, for example, there were 10 black starting quarterbacks, the most in NFL history. 

Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Dwayne Haskins, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Dak Prescott, Tyrod Taylor, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson all started for their respective teams in the quarterback position.

Not only that, the four highest paid players at quarterback in the NFL — Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson, and Russell Wilson — are all black.

Mahomes, whose team has won the Super Bowl and who was 2018 league MVP, is the highest-paid NFL quarterback, with a salary of $45 million. The Cowboys’ Prescott is second, with a salary of $40 million, while the Texans’ Watson is third with $39 million, and Wilson of the Seahawks at fourth, with $35 million.