LOOK: Drew Brees’ new cleats highlight baseball legends Ken Griffey Jr., Ted Williams

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees is wearing new cleats that honor his favorite baseball players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Ted Williams.

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Drew Brees will be wearing some new gear when he begins to warm up for Sunday’s Wild-Card Round playoff game with the Chicago Bears. The New Orleans Saints shared an up-close look at the quarterback’s latest pair of cleats, designed by Marcus Rivero of Soles by Sir, who has created customized “My Cause My Cleats” for Brees in the past.

The new cleats feature some of Brees’ favorite baseball players, including Ted Williams, who inspired him to wear No. 9 on his jersey. Other all-time greats he’s chosen to highlight are Ken Griffey Jr., Satchel Paige, and Nolan Ryan. It’s quite a group to assemble, and it’s easy to see how they inspired Brees to put in the work to be great in the NFL, too.

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No Fun League: Alvin Kamara receives uniform violations fine for festive cleats

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara hit received a $5,000 uniform violations fine for his festive Christmas Day cleats, worn in Week 16.

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You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. The NFL issued a $5,000 fine to New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara after he wore unapproved cleats in Week 16’s blockbuster win over the Minnesota Vikings — appropriate to the Christmas Day scheduling as his red-and-green ensemble may have been, the humorless worker drones in the league office didn’t hesitate to go after him, citing the NFL uniform violations policy.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero first reported news of the fine, which was confirmed by Nola.com’s Amie Just.

Ironically, highlights from Kamara’s all-time-great performance against Minnesota will probably be used for years to promote future NFL prime-time games. It’s not every day that someone scores half a dozen touchdowns in a single game, much less as a runner (it hadn’t happened in 91 years, for those keeping score at home). So either the NFL’s marketing department will have to crop out the offending footwear or blithely turn a blind eye to the hypocrisy of it all.

Anyway: this isn’t unexpected. Kamara said previously that he would accept whatever fine the league throws at him and match it in a charitable donation, so some good will come of it. Considering his efforts have already drawn over $21,000 for a charity close to him in thanks from Saints fans and fantasy football managers, well, it’s great to see Kamara embracing the spirit of the season.

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Alvin Kamara had the best reaction to possible Christmas Day uniform violations fine

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara is expecting a uniform violations fine from the NFL office for his festive Christmas Day cleats.

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Alvin Kamara reminded the football world that he’s one of the best players in the NFL by dashing for 155 rushing yards and six touchdown carries on Christmas day against the Minnesota Vikings. The New Orleans Saints star was the first person to achieve that many scoring runs since the NFL-AFL merger, joining an exclusive group of athletes to do so in pro football’s history.

So the Pro Football Hall of Fame is expected to ring Kamara soon, likely to put his festive red-and-green cleats on display in Canton, Ohio. But Kamara is expected the NFL’s strict uniform policy to hit him with a fine for violating the approved footwear rules first.

“Oh, they’re probably going to fine me,” Kamara shrugged during his postgame media availability. “If they fine me, whatever it is, I’ll just match it and donate it to charity. You know that the Grinch always tries to steal Christmas.”

Meanwhile, his teammate Cameron Jordan offered another suggestion after the record-setting performance: “Well, when the Hall of Fame calls to come get the cleats, now he’s just got to charge them,” Jordan smirked, “So he can break even.”

First-offense fines for violating the league uniform policy clock in at $5,000; subsequent violations total $10,000. Fines paid out for these violations are collected into foundations that benefit former players, so they’ll go to good to use. And as Kamara said, he plans to match any potential fine with his own charitable donation. After signing a $75 million contract extension earlier this year (which arguably still leaves him underpaid relative to his performance), Kamara can afford it.


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News: How much fun was Dak, Cowboys’ most underrated; Dalton battles old foe

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected. In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, …

The Cowboys have underachieved in 2020, that’s for sure. But which player has flown the most under the radar and had a sneaky-good season? The answer may be trickier than expected.

In other news just prior to the club’s first-ever Tuesday game, we’re talking about a former wide receiver facing the Cowboys for the first time, a new Dallas player who knows a thing or two (or sixteen) about playing the Ravens, and remembering another ex-Cowboy who’s making waves with his new team. We’ve got injury news to recap, including the superstar who’s been placed on IR and a position group that won’t have two (more) of its big hitters this week. All that, plus a look at how the NFC East is shaking out, an early preview of Week 17’s rematch with Jason Garrett and the Giants, and a super-early discussion of how COVID-19 will impact Dak Prescott and the franchise tag. Here’s the News and Notes.

WATCH: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes reveals cleat design for ‘My Cause My Cleats’

Mahomes’ cleats were designed in part by a virtual classroom of children.

Earlier today we learned that Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes will headline the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign. Now, his cleat design has officially been revealed.

It’s the fifth consecutive season that NFL has done the “My Cause My Cleats” campaign and they’re teasing the biggest year yet. The league will raise money for various charity organizations and causes, auctioning off game-worn cleats designed to represent those organizations and causes.

Mahomes, of course, is representing the 15 and the Mahomies foundation with his cleats. On Tuesday, the Chiefs shared a video on Twitter of Mahomes revealing the design for his custom cleats and explaining the origin of all the individual design elements.

Check out the video down below:

Apparently, Adidas helped Mahomes come up with the idea of having a classroom of kids help choose the different design elements for the custom cleats. Those kids helped choose the green grass, which represents hope for the future. They also chose design elements on the shoe representing positivity over negativity, respect and politeness. It’s a cool concept and I’m sure these cleats will be coveted when they’ve auctioned off on the NFL Auctions website.

This is just the first of many cleats worn by Chiefs players set to be revealed ahead of the team’s Week 13 game against the Denver Broncos.

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Look at Diamondbacks Second baseman Ildemaro Vargas’ amazing Jordan 1 cleats

These are soooooo fly

Baseball cleats are very rarely eye popping. They’re normally just regular team colors and in pretty plain designs.

So that’s why whenever you see an actual good pair of baseball cleats, you’ve really got to stop and take a second to appreciate them and all of their greatness.

And these cleats from Diamondbacks second baseman Ildemaro Vargas deserve all of your praise.

Ahead of the Diamondbacks’ game on Friday night against the Dodgers, Vargas laced up some Jordan 1 cleats in a teal and burgundy Diamondbacks colorway that looked absolutely phenomenal.

These are so good that, honestly, if they weren’t just cleats? I’d cop up immediately. The socks were a bonus, too.

These are so fly, yo. I need them.

Michael Thomas previews custom Jordan cleats celebrating his 2019 season

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas, one of the top ambassadors for Nike’s Jordan brand, received custom cleats celebrating his 2019 season

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is a superstar, and he knows it. He celebrates his many catches with a quick biceps flex and signal for a first down, and takes pride in the hard work he’s put in to accomplish goals like earning the award as 2019’s Offensive Player of the Year.

Thomas also earned recognition from one of his top sponsors — Nike’s Jordan brand sneakers, who sent him an outstanding pair of new sneakers celebrating last season’s achievements. The cleats are are stylized in white, black, and gold, and feature details such as his NFL-record 149 receptions in a single season and famous Twitter handle (@cantguardmike). See them for yourself:

We can expect Thomas to put these on display somewhere in his home, likely in his crowded trophy case, but the jury’s out on whether he’ll wear them into a game. The Jordan brand ambassador has made a habit of gifting sneakers to coaches and teammates, with Saints head coach Sean Payton wearing them during the Zurich Classic golf tournament. But Thomas outdid himself last season by landing a shipment of sneakers for the entire Saints locker room.

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Look at Emmanuel Sanders’ custom cleats honoring Kobe Bryant

See Emmanuel Sanders’ custom Kobe Bryant cleats for the Super Bowl.

Kobe Bryant was an NBA icon in every aspect of the word and impacted the game of basketball in a way not many other athletes have over the span of two decades.

That’s not where his reach stopped, though.

Tributes have been pouring in for Bryant from all over the sports world, including football. During the biggest week of the league year, NFL players have been paying homage to Bryant since he passed away last week.

The latest player to show Bryant love from the football world is Emmanuel Sanders. Ahead of the 49ers Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, Sanders shared a pair of customized cleats with art honoring Bryant on them.

One shoe has a drawing of Bryant wearing a crown on on it and the other has both of Bryant’s numbers — 24 and 8 — on it. Aside from the great tribute this is from Sanders, these are just pretty dope cleats.

The artwork is fly and they also match the 49ers’ team colors, which means he should be able to wear them for the Super Bowl. Keep an eye out for them.

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Courtland Sutton Takes Adidas’ Environmental Mission To Heart

Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton says his decision to partner with Adidas went beyond the standard consideration of cleats and shoes and extended to the company’s eco-conscious ethos.

Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton says his decision to partner with Adidas went beyond the standard consideration of cleats and shoes and extended to the company’s eco-conscious ethos.

Broncos players to wear special cleats in Week 14

Broncos players will wear special cleats in Week 14 to show support for special causes.

Denver Broncos players will participate in “My Cause, My Cleats” this week when they face the Houston Texans on the road.

The NFL has been doing this once a season since 2016 to give players an opportunity to “showcase the charitable cause that is most important to them for a national audience” through custom-designed cleats.

“A lot of people have something they have a cause for and something that they have aspirations to help or bring awareness for,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris said Tuesday.

“This is just a great job by the NFL being able to allow us to do this and allow us to have something to stand for and something to represent this weekend. I’m glad they started doing that, for sure.”

The complete list of Denver players that will be wearing custom cleats this weekend can be seen below:

Player Non-profit organization(s)/Cause(s)
Brandon Allen Alzheimer’s Association
Jeremiah Attaochu Glory’s Hope Sickle Cell Foundation
Quinn Bailey Pat Tillman Foundation
Andrew Beck America’s Gold Star Families and Texas School for the Deaf
Garett Bolles National Center for Learning Disabilities
Fred Brown The Nephrotic Syndrome Foundation
Bradley Chubb The Chubb Foundation
Todd Davis A-Plus Living Foundation
Duke Dawson Jr. International Children’s Anophthalmia & Microphthalmia Network (ICAN)
Nico Falah USC Caruso Catholic Center
Noah Fant Open Door Mission
Royce Freeman CASA of Imperial County
Troy Fumagalli Alzheimer’s Association
Adam Gotsis Around the Campfire
Hamilton, DaeSean Susan G Komen and Sewall Child Development Center
Chris Harris Jr. The Chris Harris Jr. Foundation
Davontae Harris The Wichita Kid Foundation
Shelby Harris SHARE
Jeff Heuerman Muscular Dystrophy Association
Alijah Holder American Foundation For Suicide Prevention
Justin Hollins Alzheimer’s Association
Kareem Jackson The Kareem Jackson Foundation
Ja’Wuan James Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Andy Janovich Hunting with Soldiers
Josey Jewell Logan’s Hope
Alexander Johnson Alzheimer’s Association
Joseph Jones Gamer’s Outreach and KICKcancER
Casey Kreiter Zach Johnson Foundation
Ron Leary Ron Leary REACH Foundation
Drew Lock Leukemia Research Foundation
Trey Marshall Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
Connor McGovern TNT Kid’s Fitness and Gymnastics
Brandon McManus Project McManus
Von Miller Von’s Vision
Corey Nelson National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
Will Parks Philadelphia CeaseFire
Tim Patrick Sarcoma Foundation of America and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America
Mike Purcell Wounded Warriors Project
Malik Reed Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Dalton Risner RisnerUP Foundation
Austin Schlottmann Adam’s Angels and Special Olympics Brenham
Justin Simmons Fuel Up to Play 60
Deyon Sizer JED Foundation
Diontae Spencer Everytown USA
Courtland Sutton A Precious Child
Shakial Taylor American Diabetes Association
Colby Wadman Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California
Josh Watson Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Elijah Wilkinson Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver
Juwann Winfree Team Winfree Youth Foundation
Billy Winn The Lupus Foundation of America
Derek Wolfe Beaver Local High School
Isaac Yiadom 1Mission

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