The NFL season starts Thursday, September 4, and for the first time in league history a record 16 Black quarterbacks are listed as starters for their teams. The number is the most ever in the NFL’s 105 year history.

According to USA Today, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, Cam Ward, C.J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, Geno Smith, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Michael Penix Jr., Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson and Spencer Rattler will be QB1s Week 1. Which means that half the NFL’s starting quarterbacks in Week 1 are Black.

NFL legend Doug Williams, the first Black QB to win a Super Bowl in 1988 with the Washington Commanders and was named MVP of the game, said that the trend for Black quarterbacks has been progressing in recent years.

“I said about a year and a half ago half the league gonna be Black quarterbacks before long. I said probably within the next five years, and it happened before five years,” Williams said. “If you write the top quarterback in the league, I think majority of them would be Black.”

Since the 1960s, momentum has been building to this historic moment. In 1968, Marlin Briscoe was the first Black quarterback to start in modern pro football. The legendary Warren Moon, who was not drafted by the NFL and had to begin his career in the CFL, was the first Black quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Mahomes and Hurts made history as  the first Black quarterbacks to start in the same Super Bowl in 2023. 

“It is history. It’s come a long way,” Mahomes said before the game in 2023. “To be the first for something is pretty cool.”

 “It’s history,” Hurts added.

Troy Vincent Sr., NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations, spoke about the significance of having so many great Black QBs starting at one time

“This milestone speaks to the normalization of how access, talent, perseverance, and leadership meet opportunity," Vincent told BET. "It reflects the inclusive nature of the game, and it will continue to inspire the next generation to lead and compete at the highest level of football." 

Moon also expressed his excitement to see so many Black QBs succeeding in the NFL, a drastic change from his playing days.

“Just like last year and even the years prior, it just makes you proud to see the number just continue to keep rising,” Moon said. “Because I know what that position used to be thought of for African Americans to be able to play, and I was part of that."

“It’s great that the league and ownership and society and everybody is bought in and sees that these guys can play at a very, very high level, and they continue to keep giving them more opportunities,” Moon continued. “The more opportunities they give them, they're turning them into a starting quarterback position. I love it.”