What percentage of NFL players are black?

The NFL has grown a lot over its time since the first African American played in the NFL. Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall paved the way for African Americans in professional football. Fritz Pollard didn't stop at just being a player, he became the first African American head coach in the NFL as well.

The NFL has come a long way and continues to grow with the number of African Americans in the league. This is a great thing to see because it brings a different look and skill set to the NFL. It also brings diversity to the NFL, which is needed.

With that being said, what is the percentage of black players playing in the NFL today?

What are the percentages of African Americans in the NFL?

Baltimore Ravens QB is the most exciting player in the league today

Statista.com broke down the NFL African Americans in the National Football League in 2019. The percentages are broken down by role. As of 2019, 58.9% of African Americans in the NFL were the players themselves. This number has now grown to 70% in 2020.

On this day February 8, 2021 these two COODRNIATORS in the @NFL woke up Super Bowl Champions. Credit Credit is way overdue. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/aq6pfew1iz
— Coach Eddie Jones (@CoachEJ_DLine) February 8, 2021

The NFL assistant coaches are the second highest, with 29.6% of them being African American. Numbers fall tremendously after the assistant coaches positions. Senior Administrator is the final role on the list that is in double digits sitting at 10.7%.

Head coaching positions come in at 9.4%, Proffessional staff checks in at 8.8%, Vice presidents are at 7.1% and General Managers are the lowest sitting at 6.3%.

When looking at the numbers it is sad that after assistant coaches the numbers almost hit rock bottom. With the NFL patting themselves on the back when it comes to how they handle racial equality, they are not following what they are saying.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: John Henry Johnson played with Calgary Stampeders just in 1953 but dominated on offence, defence and kick returns, winning Jeff Nicklin Trophy as top player in west. He went on to 13-year HOF career in NFL with 49ers, Lions, Steelers, Oilers. pic.twitter.com/P5FahdT16L
— Daryl Slade (@Stampeders1945) February 5, 2021

Roger Goodell spoke on how he felt about recent hires in the NFL. Goodell was not happy with the number of African-American coaches that were overlooked for head coaching jobs. The NFL commissioner may say he is upset about the number of coaches that were overlooked, but he is not doing anything about it.

I understand that he cannot make NFL franchises hire African American coaches, but he can talk with the teams about adding more diversity to their teams.

As of right now, the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the most diverse coaching staff in the NFL. Tampa Bay currently has two female coaches on their staff and the majority of Bruce Arians' staff are African American.