Patrick Mahomes talks about first Super Bowl matchup between Black quarterbacks

Feb 3, 2023 - 4:05 PM

Though Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won’t be on the field at the same time during Super Bowl LVII, the duo will certainly make history.

Next Sunday’s game will be the first Super Bowl matchup between two Black quarterbacks — and with a victory, Mahomes would be the first Black quarterback to win multiple Lombardi trophies. Should the Eagles win, Hurts will become the seventh Black quarterback to win one.

“To be on the world stage and have two Black quarterbacks starting 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 that we can kind of set the stage for the kids that are coming up now.”

Leading both of their teams to No. 1 seeds in their conferences, Mahomes and Hurts rode spectacular seasons to Glendale, combining for over 9,000 passing yards and 82 total touchdowns. Before a late-season shoulder injury sidelined Hurts for two games, both were widely considered to be odds-on favorites to claim 2022’s NFL MVP award.

“It is unique,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of the matchup after Sunday night’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals. “I don’t really care what color you are. [If] you’re a good player — which at that position takes a tremendous amount of time and effort — I can really appreciate that.”

Reid’s 2005 Philadelphia Eagles featured one of the six black quarterbacks to ever start a Super Bowl: Donovan McNabb. That group also includes Doug Williams, Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.

Mahomes and Hurts also share another similarity. Hurts (from Oklahoma) and Mahomes (from Texas Tech) both entered the NFL Draft from Big 12 schools — and claim the Lone Star State as their home base.

“I think you’ve seen — with just the way that we’re taught at a young age and seven-on-seven and everything like that — the [Texas] quarterbacks are starting to become more and more of a thing,” remarked Mahomes.

Adding Texas quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Baker Mayfield to the equation, Mahomes believes his home state is becoming the best one for football.

“I brag to all my [Pennsylvania] guys,” said Mahomes, “because they claim that they have the best state in football because of the history. But I’m like, ‘I’m talking about the present’ — and I think Texas has it going right now.”