Prospective NFL players must complete numerous tests. Most are physical tests, but there is also the Wonderlick intelligence test. It is a basic IQ-style test with multiple-choice logic questions. Prospective players receive a score of 1-50.
In 2012, the Journal of Sports Economics reported that White draftees scored an average of 40% higher on the intelligence test than Black draftees. The journal compiled the scores for every White and Black draftee from 2004 to 2008.
The NFL previously used the Wonderlick scores when considering a payout for brain injuries. However, this ended in 2021 due to a lawsuit. A group of former Black players sued, claiming that using Wonderlick scores to help determine the validity of a brain injury was discriminatory.
The NFL just announced that the Wonderlick test would no longer be used. Sports Illustrated denounced the Wonderlick test as “biased” against Black people in 2017. Given the NFL’s pandering to Black racial militarism, it is surprising that the NFL continued testing intelligence this long.
The NFL also announced that teams could be fined up to $150k and lose picks for asking prospective players “insensitive questions.”
Each prospective player must run a 40-yard dash as well. Black outperform Whites at this, but no one is calling the test “biased” or “discriminatory.”
