When the Philadelphia Eagles take the field this Sunday, a familiar face will not be seen. After eleven seasons, Donovan McNabb will no longer be the quarterback for the Eagles.
As an Eagle, McNabb posted some impressive numbers. To see this, let’s just look at the records McNabb set for the Eagles (courtesy of McNabb’s own biography): 4,746 pass attempts, 2,801 completions, 32,873 passing yards, and 216 TD passes are all franchise records for the Eagles. In addition, he has more wins (92), postseason games (16) and postseason victories (9) than any other QB in team history.
Despite these numbers, though, McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins. Trades in the NFL are certainly not unusual. But consider the following list of quarterbacks: Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Troy Aikman. What do these quarterbacks have in common?
• Each quarterback started their career after 1969.
• Each is in the Hall-of-Fame.
• Each played their entire career with one team.
• And each is white.
Since 1969, ten quarterbacks have entered the league and eventually were selected to the Hall-of-Fame. Nine of these quarterbacks were white. And of these nine, only Joe Montana and Steve Young – who both played for the San Francisco 49ers — played for more than one team in their career.
In contrast, consider the story of Warren Moon, the one black Hall-of-Fame quarterback. Moon was undrafted in 1978 (despite leading the Washington Huskies to a victory in the Rose Bowl in 1978). He then spent five years in the Canadian Football League (where he won five consecutive league championships) before finally landing a job with the Houston Oilers in 1984. With the Oilers in 1984, Moon became just the sixth black quarterback to attempt 100 passes in a single NFL season. Yes, prior to the 1990s it was very clear that black quarterbacks were treated differently than white signal callers.
Moon’s Hall-of-Fame career was also different from his white colleagues. Across fifteen seasons, Moon worked for four different teams. Once again, no other Hall-of-Fame quarterback in the aforementioned sample toiled for so many different franchises.
If we look at NFL history, it is clear that race matters. And if we look at just the Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks, it also appears that race impacts a player’s career. But history and a sample of ten observations is hardly enough to tell us much about how quarterbacks are viewed today.
For a larger and more recent sample, consider the factors that get a quarterback paid in the NFL. Rob Simmons and I – in a paper published in 2009 — looked at a sample with 435 observations. Across this sample we examined the factors that determine a quarterback’s salary. Once we controlled for performance (in a variety of ways), where a quarterback was selected in the draft, years of experience, the quality of skill players around the quarterback, pro bowl appearances, and the size of the market where a quarterback played; we uncovered evidence that a quarterback’s race impacts the size of his paycheck.
This appears to be especially true for the elite signal callers. Rob and I segmented our sample so we could see how race impacted pay across the salary distribution. At lower levels of pay, race didn’t seem to matter much. But as we moved into higher and higher salaries, race mattered more and more. And for the richest quarterbacks, the results indicated that a black quarterback posting the same numbers as a white quarterback would get less pay.
Such results are what we see when we look at a large sample of quarterbacks. But let’s return the specific story of Donovan McNabb. One can take the statistics (i.e. yards from passing, rushing, and sacks; total plays; and interceptions) tabulated for an NFL quarterback and use these to measure how many wins a quarterback produced (some details can be found HERE and more is offered in Stumbling on Wins – where the story of race and the NFL quarterback is also explored). Across McNabb’s career, he has produced 27.7 wins; and per 100 plays, his Wins Produced stands at 0.487. To put those numbers in perspective, McNabb’s career production of wins (and his career is not over yet) already top the career numbers of Staubach, Bradshaw, Kelly, and Aikman (even after these Hall-of-Famer’s numbers were adjusted for the time period when each quarterback played). And his per play performance tops what we saw from both the aforementioned quartet and John Elway.
If we look at performance in each season, McNabb has not posted below average numbers since his second NFL season. In contrast, Aikman was below average in three different years. And Bradshaw and Elway posted below average numbers four and five times respectively. But unlike Moon and McNabb, none of these players ever departed the team that employed the quarterback his rookie season.
So did race play a role in McNabb’s departure from Philadelphia? There is no way to answer that question with certainty. What we can say is the there is evidence that in general, elite black quarterbacks are treated differently than elite white quarterbacks. This is clearly seen when we look at the salary data.
And one suspects it can also be seen with respect to the image many people have of McNabb. All quarterbacks have bad games. And almost all quarterbacks have bad seasons. But for the elite white quarterbacks, the down times are often overlooked. Furthermore, these quarterbacks are often praised for their leadership and apparently magical abilities to win games.
McNabb – despite posting very similar numbers and playing for teams that won many, many games – doesn’t seem to be spoken about in the same way. One suspects, given what we have seen with respect to the history of the black quarterback and the impact race has on a signal caller’s pay, that one reason McNabb is now a Redskin (and yes, given this story, that is an odd name for McNabb’s new team) is the color of his skin.
This story was originally posted at the Huffington Post.
– DJ
Philadelphian
September 10, 2010
McNabb is 1 – 4 in Conference Championships. He is 0 – 1 in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles had to move on. They weren’t going to win the championship with McNabb. Race isn’t the reason he’s on the Redskins.
Evan
September 10, 2010
it’s possible, but there are lots of potential sources of error that you didn’t mention as having controlled for.
Rockets fan
September 10, 2010
I was a huge Oiler fan. The Warren Moon story is incomplete.
First, Moon’s college quarterback numbers were below average, which I suspect had something to do with him not being drafted. But that’s not even mentioned.
Second, Moon signed what was, at the time, the most lucrative NFL contract. But we couldn’t get out of the playoffs with him as our QB. The Oilers had some great teams. They couldn’t succeed in the playoffs, however, and there was a feeling that something needed to change. Eventually, Cody Carlson, who I believe was the highest paid back up qb by far, came along and people started to think it was time to change something. Moon was also getting older. He did not play in all 16 games with the Oilers his last two years with the team. Once Carlson failed, they drafted McNair, who is black and who played for the franchise for the rest of his career.
All that said, it is certainly possible that race had something to do with Moon not being given more time. But I think it borders on unethical to accuse a franchise of making decisions based on race with respect to a specific player without providing the full context of the decision. To make matters worse, you put all of this in a book with just as little context.
Brian R
September 10, 2010
This is a perfect example of a pot stirrer. How many black elite quarterbacks have there been? How are you comparing salaries and allowing for different time periods? Please explain.
I’m sure I am missing a few but I have McNabb, McNair, Moon, Cunningham, Doug Williams (not really but he has a ring), maybe Vince Young if he stays on pace for a few more years. Vick? I think not, but I’ll spot you him.
The Elite white QBs you are comparing these guys to had more stability and more consistent winning seasons. That’s why they stayed with one team. They also stayed long enough with the same teams to get good “paydays”. Your comparison is absurd.
As for Moon playing on 4 teams. Hogwash. The only time he left a team and had a winning record was when he left Houston in a trade. Houston thought that Cody Carlson would be great and they worked with Moon to get him a good situation. He was 36-37 by the way. Also he left Minn after going 4-4, he left Seattle after going 4-6, and he lost his only start as a Chief. Hi career after Houston was riddled with injuries by my recollection, and the fact that he played for those 3rd and 4th teams likely had more to do with this than anything else.
When McNabb was given a 10 year $110 Million contract, it was among the largest to date for any QB ever in the NFL. Michael Vick, not really elite by most accounts signed the richest deal to that date in NFL history in 2005 for $130 million with an NFL record 37 million in bonuses. These guys have really had it tough because of their skin color. Haven’t they?
Also, all of your Elite white QBs have multiple game winning 4th quarter playoff drives on their resumes. They didn’t puke on the field on camera then deny it 6 years later. McNabb has great stats and he is a class act. Although, I can’t recall many other “class acts” who feel the need to announce their classiness in just about every interview they have given, but that’s neither here nor there.
There may be an issue in High School with coaches and who they allow to be QBs and who they don’t. I suspect this could have something to do with the relatively low ratio of Black QBs in the NFL. Although, the numbers have been steadily growing by most accounts.
But, this is the NFL, owners want to win and many of them, including Jeffrey Lurie, will do that at great expense regardless of many factors, especially race.
McNabb is well above average and I think he’ll get some more nice stats in Washington and wherever else he winds up. But, he will probably never win a Super Bowl as a starter, and he can’t run a 2 minute offense to save his life, or his lunch, for that matter.
Randy
September 10, 2010
As a Green Bay Packer fan, this is what I remember of Donovan McNabb:
http://philadelphia-eagles.net/history/2003/2003-div.html
bagsflyfree
September 10, 2010
dr. berri, is this a troll post, seriously? are you honestly saying that a league in which ~65% players are black and a lot of them with criminal records is somehow prejudice against black QB’s or black players in general? Never mind the ridiculous suspension for Ben Roethlisberger in a case with zero evidence, fact that most colleges simply refuse to recruit and develop white players for certain positions and other media bias.
Mo
September 10, 2010
Let me lead off by saying I’m a huge McNabb fan.
I think these numbers are more relevant. 14, 16, 14, 10, 9. Those are the number of games he started in the last 6 years. It’s also not due to clinching early that he sat out of those games, but because of injury. You have a 12 year veteran, that has difficulty staying healthy (he already got hurt this preseason) and a young up and coming QB. The Eagles took the risk with the young guy to maximize the value they could get for McNabb. It has nothing to do with his race.
San Francisco Steve
September 10, 2010
Yeah…don’t forget Joe Montana. How many rings did he have and was kicked to the curb for a younger Steve Young.
jigga
September 10, 2010
I’m sorry but football is far too complex and team-dependent a sport to analyze using one variable. I don’t put any stock in the football version of wins produced.
Karen
September 10, 2010
How many white running backs are there in the NFL?
Tommy_Grand
September 10, 2010
If McNabb had won the superbowl, I suspect he would have been treated like Staubach and Aikman and Bradshaw, although there is a chance he would have been treated like SB winners Montana & Farve.
DM is a good QB. I think the Redskins should let him sit out this week to heal and let him start week 2. I hope he has a good season.
bagsflyfree
September 10, 2010
Karen, quote from a different website:
“There are no white starting cornerbacks in the NFL out of 64 players who start at that position. In fact, there are no white cornerbacks in the entire league. There are zero starting white tailbacks. No white running back has run for over 1,000 yards in nearly a quarter of a century. Only about five percent of starting wide receivers and safeties are white.”
Eliot
September 10, 2010
I would say that white players at skill positions other than QB and TE/H-Back have far more trouble with perception than black QBs have these days. I remember reading a piece about Toby Gerhart where he said he had trouble being recruited as running back as almost every coach wanted him to play fullback or linebacker even though he had proven to be an outstanding running back in high school, because of the common perception that white players aren’t athletic enough to play most skill positions.
fricktho
September 10, 2010
A black QB story about Philly without mention of Randall Cunningham? He spent 10 years with Philly. After that Rodney Peete spent a few seasons there. And then on to Mcnabb. Why is any of that relevant? I have no idea, but Philly has had their share of black qb’s. This story is about black qb vagabonds. Still pointing out Philly’s propensity to employ said qb’s. Most qb’s end up on a different team in the twilight of their careers not just black qb’s. There seems to be a lack of data here. There just haven’t been that many great black quarterbacks.
jbrett
September 10, 2010
Good God, there are some thin-skinned posters today, aren’t there? And your countering evidence is every bit as anecdotal. Brett Favre, as an example of a vagabond QB? Please. A cup of coffee in Atlanta, then around THREE HUNDRED games, all told, in Green Bay, then three years as a gun for hire because the Pack finally told him to shit or get off the pot. George Blanda played for three teams, in 28 years; I guess he’s a journeyman, by that definition.
I had forgotten the ‘phenom’ who replaced Moon in Houston. If in fact Cody Carlson was the highest paid backup in the league, that should PROVE Dr. Berri’s conjecture is true; at the very least, it proves all you have to have to get paid to play QB is fair skin and a helmet.
Test this theory: The “can’t win in the playoffs/ can’t win the big one/ doesn’t play big in the clutch” is disproportionately applied to non-white QB’s. Moon, Cunningham, and McNabb all heard it, either then or right now; name three white QB’s about whom the PRIMARY knock is “yeah, his numbers are good, but he’s just not a winner.” I got Jeff George, who was a lemon-ass from day one; nobody ever thought he was good, much less great. Maybe I’m wrong; lay ’em on me. Try these, on the other hand: Dan Fouts, John Brodie, Ken Anderson, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton–hell, that’s enough, I could go on forever–what do they have in common? Every one of them LOST the biggest games they played in–and none of them got labeled for it. I’ll say it again: If I’m wrong, show me the articles or quotes.
Here’s my take: Maybe–MAYBE–there’s a greater willingness to label black QB’s as not having the will, or fortitude, or mental capacity (or buoyancy; where’s Al Campanis when you need him?) to come through in the clutch; as a result, it is easier to ship them out when the opportunity, or excuse, presents itself. Hey, I’m not saying it’s a bulletproof thesis–but if it only has to compete against BRETT FAVRE as proof that white QB’s get dumped, too, then it’s fucking genius.
reservoirgod
September 10, 2010
LMAO at the responses to this post… I think it’s brilliant. It not only discusses evidence of racial bias by NFL management but tricks the fans into exposing their own racial bias as well. Absolutely brilliant. Prof. Berri references research indicating that elite black QBs were paid less than elite white QBs and the response is, “Well, two black QBs signed big contracts, too!” Or, “Well, there are no white players getting paid to play lower-salaried positions, so there!” ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT POST!
some dude
September 11, 2010
“Prof. Berri references research indicating that elite black QBs were paid less than elite white QBs and the response is, “Well, two black QBs signed big contracts, too!””
Name me the “elite” black QBs over the past 15 seasons.
McNabb. Who just got traded and had the 2nd biggest cap hit last season among QBs in the NFL.
Vick (using elite loosely here) who signed a humongous deal and went to jail due to his own fault.
Culpepper who blew out his knee.
Can you name anyone else who was “elite” anytime over the past 15 years and was black. I’m having trouble coming up with them.
Only Peyton and Brady have stayed and they’re still pretty young.
Brees, Favre, Warner have all changed teams WHILE they were “elite.”
There is ZERO evidence over the lat 10-15 years that black quarterbacks are paid significantly less than white quarterbacks. Incorporating outdated numbers into the system to prove a point is bullshit.
The fact of the matter is that unless you’re elite, you’re almost certainly changing teams at least once within 10 years. And as Brees & Warner will tell you, sometimes elite is not enough.
some dude
September 11, 2010
NFL salaries are wonky, too…because of the signing bonus structure and how it’s mostly upfront. The highest paid QB changes every year because of it, which is why you really should be looking at cap hit (though there is none this season).
To understand how ridiculous the system is, in 2008 Jamarcus Russell was the 4th highest paid player in the NFL. Yes, a black quarterback who was one of the worst QBs of all time. Of all friggan’ time. And he made more money than anyone else in the NFL except for 3 other players.
Just stop. The race argument may have been true at one time or another, but certainly not in the recent era.
The issue lies in rookie contracts which aren’t scaled like in the NBA which forces productive but older players out the door.
marparker
September 11, 2010
I’m pretty sure team wins is the most important stat relevant to salary. I don’t think GM’s in the NFL are calculating wins produced and then colluding to pay only the white players what they deserve.
reservoirgod
September 11, 2010
ROTFL…
Tommy_Grand
September 11, 2010
I’m very willing to accept the conclusion that black QBs have, over the history of the nfl, been paid less than white QBs of similar quality. Furthermore, I am willing to buy the argument that, even over the last 22 years (or since Doug Williams won the superbowl), black QBs have been paid less than white QBs of similar strength, although I suspect the margin is smaller and (at least i hope) it continues to shrink if graphed on a season-by-season basis from 1980-2010.
Nevertheless, I do not agree that Philly moving McNabb to DC is evidence of this trend or that it proves the argument. Further, I think comapring Farve and McNabb is apposite. Donovan was a much higher draft pick. DM got paid much more than Farve during each player’s first three years in the NFL. Donovan has only played on 2 NFL teams. Farve has played on 4 teams, despite having won the superbowl, and despite being the all-time leader in yardage and TDs.
The professor’s main point — about race being a factor in QB pay over the history of the NFL ( and to a lesser extent in 2010) — sounds valid to me. But if DM had won the superbowl he would still be in Philly regardless of race or ancestry. If Vick had not trained his dogs to fight, he would still be in Atlanta. If Big Ben did not love to hammer drunk chicks, he would be playing this weekend. If Drew Brees had won the superbowl in SD, the Saints would never have been able to get him. In 2010, race stilll plays a role, but other factors predominate.
Anyway, here’s hoping Vince Young will win the superbowl, get the largest contract in NFL history, and retire as a Titan.
reservoirgod
September 11, 2010
Tommy Grand:
The Titans would be making progress if they don’t lock Vince Young out of the team’s practice facility when they’re done w/ him like they did Steve McNair. Or if they just don’t leak anymore false stories about his mental health to reporters. I think that would be enough to hope for…
brgulker
September 11, 2010
Something tells me the trolls didn’t get past the title of the post. As a former basketball player and white guy, the topic of race in the NBA is super interesting to me. Has anyone conducted a study like this for NBA players? How about Lee vs. Amare as a case study?
Cal
September 11, 2010
I have not read the paper mentioned in the article. So, I’m sorry if my comments here are incorrect.
From what I can tell, the paper finds that when you control for a group of variables, race has a significant effect. Naturally, the first question I’d raise is this practically significant as well as statistically. But besides that all we have established is correlation, not causation. That results seems to me to be a starting point for further investigation into racism amongst quarterback salaries. I need more evidence than this to be convinced that race is the cause of the difference in salaries.
Also, even if that study was true, it’s to do with quarterback’s salaries and not how long they stay with a team. There is no external validity for the McNabb inference.
Finally, here’s a pretty compelling piece of counter evidence to the race hypothesis. 10 years. That’s how long McNabb was with the Eagles. He’s been black that whole time, he didn’t suddenly turn black. If the Eagles had a problem with his race, I’m sure they would have gotten rid of him sooner.
I’m pretty sure the Eagles reason for getting rid of McNabb was something along the lines of ‘if he hasn’t won a super bowl by now, he never will’.
Ben Solow
September 12, 2010
Hey Dave — this is an interesting conclusion, especially considering the interaction with our paper that found no evidence of racial bias in the hiring of head coaches. Any hypothesis for why one of these leadership positions would be treated differently than the other?
Also, I haven’t read you & Rob’s article yet, but if my memory and the NY Times summary of it are correct, the conclusion was based on black quarterbacks gaining more rushing yards which weren’t rewarded by teams. Is it possible that the opportunity cost of quarterback rushes (i.e. throwing the ball instead of scrambling) makes these quarterback runs costly for the team? I suppose it depends on the risk attitudes of the team and the specific play, but the expected value of passing is significantly larger than the expected value of rushing (quarterback or tailback), but passing also has more variance.
malk
September 14, 2010
thax for this services
TBall
September 16, 2010
I’m not buying this argument. Free agency and salary caps have really changed the landscape. And arguments could be made that most of these quarterbacks stuck around a season or two longer than they should have. If John Elway wanted to play one more season in Denver, who was going to run him out of town? Who was going to run any Super Bowl winning quarterback out of town? It took Montana injuries and another Hall of Fame quarterback sitting behind him to run Montana out of town. It is different now. Warner (owner of the 3 highest passing yardage Super Bowl games) was run out of St. Louis. Favre out of Green Bay (story’s been ignored by the media. Did Dilfer last even one more season after the Ravens won the Super Bowl? How long did Brad Johnson last after his Super Bowl? Rothlesburger could have been dealt away while still in his prime and without an effective replacement available.
GMs and coaches used to have a longer shelf life as well. Part of the reason you kept a Bradshaw around was because it was safe and safe was a good career move. Now, more than ever, you need to win to keep your job and utilizing any player that is not able to help you win now is a bad career move.
Here’s a list of starting QBs and the number of consecutive years they have started for their current team coming into the season:
Aaron Rodgers, Packers (2)
Peyton Manning, Colts (11)
Drew Brees, Saints (4)
Tom Brady, Patriots (9)
Tony Romo, Cowboys (4)
Matt Schaub, Texans (3)
Eli Manning, Giants (5)
Philip Rivers, Chargers (4)
Jay Cutler, Bears (1)
Matt Ryan, Falcons (2)
Brett Favre, Vikings (1)
Joe Flacco, Ravens (2)
Kevin Kolb, Eagles (0)
Donovan McNabb, Redskins (0)
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (6)
Vince Young, Titans (3)
Carson Palmer, Bengals (6)
Matthew Stafford, Lions (1)
Josh Freeman, Buccaneers (1)
Chad Henne, Dolphins (1)
Alex Smith, 49ers (1)
David Garrard, Jaguars (4)
Kyle Orton, Broncos (1)
Matt Cassel, Chiefs (1)
Mark Sanchez, Jets (1)
Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks (9)
Matt Moore, Panthers (0)
Jason Campbell, Raiders (0)
Sam Bradford, Rams (0)
Derek Anderson, Cardinals (0)
Jake Delhomme, Browns (0)
Trent Edwards, Bills (3)
McNabb’s departure is a sign of the times, not an issue of race. After Peyton, the four QBs that have been starting for their team the longest are Hasselback, Brady, Palmer, and Rothlisberger and I could envision scenarios where all four white quarterbacks don a different uniform before their careers end and I think it is likely at least three will. Players and teams do not stay together.
reservoirgod
September 22, 2010
Of course race has nothing to do w/ how QBs are treated in Philly. This picture proves it – http://plixi.com/p/46478824.
Brandon
September 23, 2010
Mike Vick now is the starter for the Eagles. So much for this article. C’mon D. Berri you usually write better stuff than this drek.
Tony
December 19, 2010
The comparison of McNabb (by way of Moon) between Roger Staubach, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Troy Aikman is just dishonest.
All of those white quarterbacks are Hall of Famers, which seeing how things are going, McNabb won’t be. All of them except Fouts and Marino took their teams to multiple Super Bowls. Most of them were MVPs.
McNabb is a very good quarterback but he is simply not as good as the group Berri compared him to. Better would be to look at very good quarterbacks, but not Hall of Famers like Mark Brunell, Vinny Testaverde, Kerry Collins, and Boomer Esiason. None stayed with one team their entire careers, even though two of them took teams to the Super Bowl.
McNabb has been benched for Rex Grossman (!) One must wonder if the Eagles knew something the Redskins have now figured out.
As for wins per 100 plays, that looks like a toy invented by Berri, not a measure coaches or general managers have ever looked at when determining who to keep or how much to pay. Trying to shoehorn his measure into how player’s performance is actually judged is pretty dumb. Nor does it really matter if Aikman had a bad season in 1997 or whenever, when they’re trying to decide if he was their best choice for coming back in 2000.
Others have pointed out in comments Berri conveniently ignored Brett Favre. He won a Super Bowl, is a lock for Canton, and was more of a quarterback than McNabb could ever hope to be, but was released from his team for approximately the same reason as McNabb was traded, the Packers had a younger guy backing him up who they thought pretty good.
By making such nonsensical comparisons, Mr. Berri isn’t trying to enlighten us about race relations. He’s like the boy who cried wolf, just getting attention by saying something shocking. Which is unfortunate because what happens when there actually is racism?