Football rules allow you to tackle, push and pile on, but don’t you dare wear the wrong colored shoes.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts learned that the hard way after one of the Air Jordan cleats he wore during his game on Sunday, December 15, was the wrong shade of green. By NFL rules, players must wear cleats that match the team’s colors.
In Philadelphia’s 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hurts, 26, wore one Kelly green cleat, matching his Eagles jersey, and one cleat that was a much lighter shade.
The quarterback is one of Jordan Brand’s highest-profile NFL athletes. He has made it a habit to wear multiple pairs of Jordan cleats during a single game, often switching at halftime, rather than wearing cleats from two separate pairs at the same time.
That one cleat cost him a $5,628 fine, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.
The amount was the negotiated fine for a first offense, as outlined in the league’s collective bargaining agreement. A second offense would cost Hurts $16,883.
For most, a four-figure fine would be a strong deterrent. But Hurts is in the middle of a five-year contract that pays him an average of $51 million per year—and that’s before bonuses and endorsements. That means, at minimum, the first offense cost him about 0.01 percent of his annual salary.
Hurts explained his NFL fashion faux pas on Wednesday.
“I was supposed to wear the Columbia 11s that I gifted the kids that were at the ‘Wings Initiative’ after last week’s game and they never came in,” he said. “I end up having all my shoes there. Guy wanted to take some pictures. Took about five minutes, some very casual. And ended up taking pictures with two different cleats. And I was like, ‘I’ll wear these on Sunday because my shoes didn’t come in.’ Hopefully, they come in soon.”
Hurts turned in a strong performance on Sunday, completing 25 passes while throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one more. While he did not comment on whether the cleats were the secret to success, he was asked if he would wear them again and take on another fine (the second one would be about 0.03 percent of his salary).
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” he replied.
This isn’t the first time Hurts has played with two different-colored shoes. During a game in October against the Cincinnati Bengals, one of his cleats popped off and he had to adjust on the fly, grabbing a single cleat from a different pair.
After that game, he coined the perfect nickname for himself — one that remains apt.
“I had to go Jalen Two-Shoes for a bit,” he said.
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