Greatest NFL Player Exclusive Cleats (And The Stories Behind Them)

The 2026 NFL season is shaping up to be one of the most highly competitive in recent years as nearly a dozen teams can lay claim to being legitimate championship contenders. When even NFL experts are saying with a straight face that the Dallas Cowboys have a chance, you know it’s going to be a rock fight to the end. Well, it’s either that or they know pretending the Cowboys can challenge for the Super Bowl is good television, with both desperate fans and proud haters tuning to see what America’s Team is going to do next turn into a Stephen A. Smith punchline on his many platforms.

And sometimes, while those epic rants are blaring on your TV or your phone, you might see a highlight of someone laying it to the Cowboys and you catch a glimpse of a cleat that looks outside of your standard-issue Nike Vapor Pros or adidas Adizeros. Sometimes those are customs created for the league’s My Cleats, My Cause initiative, but then we see Jordan and Nike retros, adidas cleats with a little bit more personality, and even the random Under Armour pair that sneaks in from out of nowhere.

It’s been a slow process, but the NFL has been marching towards a utopian future where silly concerns like cleats matching team colors are no longer a concern. It’s a place that the NBA has inhabited for quite a while now and one that Major League Baseball has adopted in recent years. It’s not a total free-for-all yet, as the NFL will put its foot down on certain mismatched colors and brands that are not allowed on its airwaves, but the loosening of these rules has allowed players to express themselves in ways that would have been impossible with basic black or white cleats.

Now that fans and media outlets are always on the lookout for players rocking uniquely designed cleats, brands have been stepping up their game and providing their athletes with heat that fans actually want to see on the streets. We’ve certainly taken notice with our roundups of the best cleats throughout the league every week this past season. The gradual march began with superstars of the early 2000s like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, with exclusives that no one could touch, to All-Pros like Jalen Hurts showing out in the Super Bowl with multiple pairs. These are the stories of those exclusives and their role in some of the most memorable moments* in NFL history.

To clarify, these are player exclusives created by the brands and not the customs designed by the athletes and the artists that are now weekly occurrences on the field. We’ll save what will surely be a very extensive list for a future feature here on the list.

12. Shedeur Sanders Nike Diamond Turf PEs (Ready For Primetime)

After a shaky rookie season where Shedeur Sanders was somehow both the NFL’s most hated and sympathetic figure, the son of NFL Hall of Famer and Nike signature athlete Deion Sanders is looking to prove that he belongs in the league. Unfortunately, proving he belongs means having to sit behind DeShaun Watson as QB2 for the Cleveland Browns, but hopefully, he’ll be able to shake that ignominious honor whenever he lands on a new team.

If nothing else, the Nike Diamond Turf player-exclusive cleats will have better color palettes to rock with. During his rookie campaign, Shedeur wore the DT Max 96 cleats and alternated between colorways that were available in stores, customs in Browns colors because no one at Nike wanted to take on the responsibility of trying to make them presentable, and player exclusives off the field that we hope will pop up in actual games and at store shelves this coming fall.

11. Travis Hunter’s adidas AE 1 Cleats (Pregame)

There was no better athlete on adidas’ NFL roster to debut Anthony Edwards first foray into non-basketball territory than Travis Hunter. The two-way rookie was also charting an unusual path in the modern NFL, as today’s players reside almost exclusively on either offense, defense, or special teams, so why not make Hunter the one to debut a cleat that was designed for one purpose but is now being used in an entirely different world? Unfortunately, Hunter only wore the AE 1 cleats during pregame activities as he swapped them for the adidas Electric cleats. Will season 2 give us Hunter rocking either the adidas Anthony Edwards 2 or the yet-to-be-released Anthony Edwards 3? It’s something we’ll be checking out with plenty of interest in the coming weeks.

10. Terrell Owens Air Jordan 13 PE (The Star Pose 2)

Saying Terrell Owens had a flair for the dramatic is like saying Jerry Jones likes to be noticed. The NFL’s original rage baiter, Owens dared fans, opponents, and the media not to pay attention to whatever stunt he was about to pull next. And unlike other players who traffic in headline-grabbing shenanigans, T.O. had the game to back it up. After spending the first eight seasons of his career in San Francisco, Owens would sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 and help lead them to their first Super Bowl appearance in nearly 25 years.

Owens would grab 14 touchdowns that season, none more memorable than his repeat of the infamous end zone Dallas star pose celebration against the Cowboys while wearing an Air Jordan 13 Player Exclusive in Eagles colors. It should be noted that a month later in a rematch against the Cowboys, Owens would severely sprain his ankle and fracture his fibula courtesy of a horse collar tackle by Roy Williams. Coincidence? Possibly, but two years later, Owens was a Cowboy for the last productive stretch of his career before bouncing around the league until teams stopped taking a chance with the future Hall of Famer.

9. Colin Kaepernick Air Jordan 12 Low PE (The Tease)

Before Jordan Brand locked up quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and CJ Stroud early in their careers, their QB1 lineup was barren to say the least. While Donovan McNabb held the fort down during the 2000s, Jordan Brand bet big on a young Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2011. Freeman would go on to have a serviceable NFL career, but nowhere near the star power that the Jumpman was hoping for. In late 2013, they did have a brief dalliance with San Francisco 49ers star Colin Kaepernick that might be an all-time great sneaker brand “what if?”

During the final game at iconic Candlestick Park against the Atlanta Falcons, Kap would wear a gold, white, and red pair of the Air Jordan 12 for the first half. Speculation is that this was nothing more than Kap borrowing teammate Michael Crabtree’s Air Jordan 12 PEs, but for a brief moment there, the possibility of the league’s most dynamic quarterback at the time becoming a Jordan Brand athlete was quite exciting for Niners fans and sneakerheads alike.

8. Charles Woodson Air Jordan 7 PE (Last Home Game)

Randy Moss might have his fellow 1998 draftmate beat by a few years (not to mention bragging rights as the only Jordan football player with a signature trainer), but Charles Woodson’s time with the Jumpman has more than its share of memorable moments that extend to outside the football field. For example, there was not a single fit that captured the year 2001 better than the black Woodson Raiders jersey/black baggy jeans/Air Jordan 11 Concord retro that was featured in 112’s “It’s Over Now” music video.

Throughout his career, Woodson would rock some of the best exclusives in black and white and then later in green and yellow when he joined the Green Bay Packers in 2006. After seven years in Green Bay, Woodson would return to the Raiders to close out his career, and for his final home game in Oakland, Charles wore an Air Jordan 7 in silver and black. It wasn’t the pomp and circumstance that Derek Jeter received during his final games, but Woodson going out with heat is a fitting homage by one of the greatest defensive players the game has ever seen.

7. Justin Jefferson Under Armour Pro Blur 2.0 Chrome 18 PE (Hiding In Plain Sight)

In 2020, Under Armour and the NFL ended their licensing deal that allowed the brand to be shown in broadcasts. For the past few seasons, any player who was signed to Under Armour could not wear gloves, cleats, and gear that had UA branding, or else they would be subject to fines. So what did UA and Justin Jefferson do in 2024 before re-upping with the league last season? Drop some of Chrome Hearts-inspired Pro Blur 2.0 cleats without any obvious UA branding.

The result was one of the hottest and most talked-about cleats of the season, where most people were able to deduce that the cleats were made by Under Armour. It was such a win for Jefferson and UA that they followed it up with a red pair later that year and a retail release for the white pair in 2025. Not bad for one of the few to receive a golden player exclusive to celebrate their 99 overall rating in Madden NFL 26.

6. Adidas Debuts Yeezy Cleats (The Game-Changer)

Back in the simpler sneaker times of 2016, adidas and Ye, FKA Kanye West, were on a magical run that seemed like it would last forever. As part of that heat check, they decided to release official Yeezy 350 and 750 cleats to kick off the new NFL season. While these are not technically PEs, the Kanye-gifted cleats only went to the top guys of The Three Stripes during that time, including Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins.

While Miller and Prescott’s cleats did not draw the ire of the NFL and their draconian on-field dress code because the Yeezy 750 cleats had a beige color, Hopkins was not as fortunate. Wearing the Turtle Dove Yeezy 350 cleats, Hopkins was fined $6,000 because the cleats did not match the Texans’ colors. Interestingly enough, the NFL would relax its rules for cleats a year later to allow some freedom to wear custom cleats with colors that don’t need to strictly match the team colors.

5. Dez Bryant Air Jordan 6 Low PE (#DezCaughtIt)

A moment so notorious it has its own Wikipedia entry, Dez Bryant made a clutch acrobatic catch on 4th-and-2 in the fourth quarter of a 2015 playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field. Well, it would have been a clutch acrobatic catch that potentially sends the Cowboys to the next round had it not been overturned. According to referees, Dez did not do enough to complete the catch before the ball came loose. As a result of the reversal, the Green Bay Packers gained possession and eventually ran out the clock to secure the win. One forgotten tidbit from that moment was the fire Air Jordan 6 Low cleats that Dez wore for that game. A few years ago, Dez unearthed the cleats and claimed it made him a little emotional because it reminded him of what could have been. Granted, what could have been was probably another monumental Cowboys choke job in line with the past 30 years of Cowboys choke jobs, but that’s neither here nor there. And for what it’s worth, Dez caught it.

4. Jalen Hurts’ Air Jordan 1 and 11 PEs (Super Bowl MVP)

Everybody knows about the Unbannable Air Jordan 1 cleats that Jalen Hurts wore during pregame of Super Bowl LIX. It takes a pretty memorable pair of cleats to get people to forget about what Hurts actually wore in the game, so let’s take time to appreciate the Air Jordan 11 in the old school Kelly Green Eagles colors and let everybody know it was no slouch. They became enough of a headliner that people forgot he balled out two years prior in the Jordan 1 and Jordan 11 cleats.

Even though the number of NFL players who have Jordan Brand deals or wear custom cleats inspired by Jordans has grown exponentially through the years and have made numerous appearances in the Super Bowl, Hurts was the first official Jordan athlete to bring the Super Bowl MVP award to the Jumpman. And when you deliver such a gift to the brand, it entitles you to a few things, like a dinner with the GOAT and headlines like Jalen Hurts is now the face of Jordan Brand.

After the 2025 season, talking heads were left wondering if he’s still a top 10 quarterback in the league. The face of the Jordan Brand is going to need a stronger 2026 to remind the world he’s arguably outplayed the actual face of the league, Patrick Mahomes, twice in the Super Bowl and walked away with one championship in the process.

3. Randy Moss Air Jordan 13 PE (The Moon)

Randy Moss’ elite collection of Air Jordan player exclusives was the stuff that kids could only dream about back in the 90s and early 2000s. To be on such a level that he was being given a signature line and purple and gold Air Jordan retros years before the late Kobe Bryant hit sneaker free agency? That’s how you knew the Super Freak was something else. In between his own trainers were Vikings-exclusive colorways of the Air Jordan 9, 11, and 13.

Everybody knows about the 9s and 11s because they are constantly being featured on social media, but the Air Jordan 13s were a part of one of Moss’s most hilarious on-field moments when he pretended to moon the Green Bay Packers after scoring a touchdown during a wild card playoff game. A harmless payback for being mooned by some Packers fans before the game, Moss ended up being fined for the incident while Joe Buck called the act “disgusting.” No, disgusting is what Moss did a few years later in New England when he teamed up with Tom Brady to break a number of receiving records. Fake mooning some cheeseheads in white and purple Jordan 13s? Iconic, not to mention it also led to the equally legendary “straight cash, homey” quote when Moss was asked about how he pays his fines.

2. Deion Sanders Nike Air Diamond Turf 2 PE (1995 Pro Bowl)

Now that Nike and Deion Sanders have reunited and are feeling so good about the relationship, it’s time to bring back the Nike Air Diamond Turf 2 PE that Sanders wore during the 1995 Pro Bowl. Hiding away in obscurity because no one watches the Pro Bowl, Sanders rocked the seldom-seen blue, white, gold, with a touch of red colorway while he intercepted a pass from Drew Bledsoe and answered a question from Lesley Visser about whether his deal with “computer company” Sega included a two-million-dollar bonus to stay in San Francisco. Calling Sega a computer company is like calling Deion a sportsman: technically true, but he’s so much more than that. He’s a Nike signature athlete with an extensive collection of PEs that needs to drop at retail, for example.

1. Saquon Barkley Nike LeBron 4 Metallic Silver PE (The Reverse Hurdle)

If only New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson were a Jordan Brand athlete when he made the Jumpman catch, he would have been wearing some green and black retros and easily topping this list. But it wasn’t meant to be, so Saquon Barkley gets the nod with his amazing reverse huddle in the Nike LeBron 4 Metallic Silver. The word iconic really should be saved for only the most jaw-dropping of moments, but this pair earned the word thanks to its spontaneity, breathtaking athleticism, and perfect product placement. Much like Jay-Z made the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankee can, Saquon made the LeBron 4s more famous than LeBron can. When the cleats get prominent real estate on the cover of the latest edition of Madden NFL, that’s about as big as it gets.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com