Players: Seahawks Win
According to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports the percentage of people of color on NFL player rosters was 70.1% in 2019. In 2013, the percentage was 69.9%. As we know, the percentage of Black quarterbacks has been low for years, but in 2019 things started to change with the reigning MVP being a Black quarterback in Patrick Mahomes, the highest-paid player in league history is a Black QB in Russell Wilson, the No. 1 overall draft pick is a Black signal-caller named Kyler Murray and the reigning MVP, QB Lamar Jackson, is also Black.
I will be analyzing the starting quarterbacks that Arizona has had since 2013 and compare them to the Cardinal’s NFC West rival, the Seahawks. For simplicity, I will be using only two ethnicity markers including W for white or caucasian and POC to denote a person of color, which for our analysis indicates anyone who doesn’t fall under the W category.
As a note, while many label Sam Bradford as White, he is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and thus considered POC. As the charts below indicate, the Cardinals have had two starting quarterbacks who were POC with Kyler Murray entering his second season as a starter. That means the Cardinals have had a POC starting at quarterback in 28.6% of their last seven seasons. Two of the six players to start (33.3%) have been POC and 19 of 112 regular-season games (17.0%) have been started by a quarterback who is POC.
The Seahawks, however, are the most diverse with Russel Wilson starting since his rookie season in 2012. That means Seattle has 100% of starting quarterbacks who were POC.
