The NFL celebrated Jalen Hurts for wearing two different colored cleats during Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh. However, the league also fined the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback for the same violation it promoted on social media just five days prior.
The No Fun Leage strikes again!
Hurts, a Jordan Brand athlete, typically rocks retro Air Jordan cleats in player-exclusive colorways. His shoe game is consistently one of the best in the National Football League.
Earlier this year, a wardrobe malfunction forced the 26-year-old to wear two different models at the same time. He wore the ‘Air Jordan 4′ on his right foot with an ’11 PE’ on his left. It was not on purpose.
— – (@Spicoli_____) December 20, 2024
However, Hurts must’ve liked the look because he ran it back over the weekend. Kind of. His cleats were different colors of the same model because the shoes he was supposed to wear didn’t come in.
The NFL promoted Hurts’ mismatched look in a since-deleted post on social media.
Even though the league capitalized on Hurts’ off-colored cleats for impressions on social media, it fined him for violating the NFL’s uniform and equipment rules. He was docked $5,628 for wearing a shoe color that is not one of Philadelphia’s “Consitutional team colors.”
A player may wear shoes that are black, white, or any Constitutional team color, or any combination of black, white, and a Constitutional team color.
— NFL rulebook
Rules are rules. Jalen Hurts violated the rules as they are written. He was fined accordingly for the violation. That’s fair!
To issue a fine for a rules violation less than a week after the violation was presented in a positive manner on social media by the NFL’s official account is as hypocritical as it gets. The post has since been deleted to try to avoid the awkward optics but the internet lives forever so the league cannot escape its blunder.
$5,000 is no big deal for Hurts. He said he might even wear the mismatched cleats again in the future. Still, the circumstances surrounding the fine and social media make it a very bad look.