"NFL makes you hate the NFL": HOFer Eric Dickerson exposes league’s racial bias in how players are paid and cared for

NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is widely regarded as one of the best running backs to play the game. The iconic RB revealed the league's racial bias and its impact.

In the latest episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast, Dickerson talked about having CTE. The legendary running back claimed he suffered from CTE in 2022, alleging it has led to his onset of Parkinson's.

Dickerson talked about how the league treated players differently on the basis of race. He referenced the NFL's infamous race norming, which eliminated several Black players from receiving any monetary compensation for treating brain-related injuries. He said:

"The sad thing about this whole deal is that with the NFL and I loved playing, I just loved playing football, the NFL makes you hate the NFL, the way they treat the players, especially black players. ...

"So what they'll do, what they'll say is, 'Okay, take the black and the white player. The white player was already smart. The black player was not smart already. If he comes down, the white player should get paid but the black player shouldn't get paid because he was already dumb. Basically, he was already kind of dumb."

Race norming used binary race norms, which came with the assumption that Black players started with a lower cognitive function than the white players. The NFL pledged to halt the use of the norms in 2021 after a $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims to former players.

Eric Dickerson rips LeSean McCoy, Pacman Jones for twisting his words

Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984, setting the single-season record that is yet to be breached. However, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley came close to breaking the record last season after registering 2,005 yards.

During Barkley's pursuit of the elusive record, former NFL players LeSean McCoy and Pacman Jones alleged that Dickerson was unsupportive of the Eagles RB breaking his record.

Dickerson claimed he never made those comments, alleging that McCoy and Jones twisted his words.

"I saw Shady McCoy said something I did not say, Pacman Jones said something I did not say, I saw Shady at the Super Bowl," Dickerson said.

Earlier this year, Dickerson alleged that the NFL told teams not to select Sheduer Sander in the 2025 NFL draft, alleging that the league "wanted to make an example" of the former Colorado star.