A Look Back At The NFL Players Who Used To Wear Nike Basketball Shoes Instead Of Cleats

via Nike

Cleats are arguably the most essential aspect of an NFL player’s uniform, as the added traction they provide can be a key factor when it comes to gaining an edge. Nike offers a number of options on that particular front, but there was once a time when some guys opted to rock their iconic basketball shoes on the gridiron.

The history of American athletes wearing cleats can be traced back to the baseball players who started wearing shoes with metal studs in the middle of the 19th century, and those were the kicks many football players turned to after the sport started to surge in popularity toward the second half of the 1800s.

Cleats provide extra traction players need to hold their own in the trenches and rely on to avoid slipping in slippery conditions while trying to juke an opponent on a run or break away from a defender while running a route.

The kinds of cleats players rock vary depending on the conditions they’re facing on gameday, which includes differences between contests played on natural grass and artificial turf. Studs are less essential in those played on the latter, and at one point in NFL history, some players decided to ditch them in favor of shoes that were designed for a different sport.

Here’s a look back at the NFL players who rocked Nike basketball shoes during games during the Astroturf Era

The surface known as “AstroTurf” was installed in the AstroDome in 1966, and three years later, an NFL game was played on that artificial surface for the first time when the Eagles hosted the Browns at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

That glorified carpet was embraced by a number of other teams in the decades that followed, and many players realized they didn’t really need to wear cleats when playing at stadiums where it was installed.

That eventually sparked a miniature movement among some guys who decided to start wearing the same Nike shoes basketball players were sporting on the hardwood. That includes former Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks, who had an excuse to rock some Jordans 1s (as well as a few other models) as a member of a team that called the Superdome home.

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That iconic venue was also host to Super Bowl XXIV, and it’s safe to say Ronnie Lott was confident Jordan 4s could get the job done when you consider he wore them on football’s biggest stage.

Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Jordans weren’t the only Nikes that made an appearance, as nothing will make you appreciate just how long LeBron James has been dominating than a picture of Marshall Faulk sporting a pair of LeBron 2s in a game that was played in 2004. Here he is in the famous LeBron 2 ‘Midnight Navy’ colorway.

That era would eventually come to an end as Astroturf was phased out in favor of artificial grass that has a bit more in common with the real thing, but those looks are absolutely timeless.