Will Custom Cleats Force the NFL to Change Its Policy?

Five weeks into the NFL season, we've seen players test the limits of self-expression in the NFL in ways previously unseen. Kneeling for the national anthem, locking arms, speaking out—all have become increasingly prominent in NFL life. So, too, has a more subtle form of messaging—footwear.

A handful of players across the league have taken to making statements with specialized cleats, addressing everything from social injustice to family members. Washington’s DeSean Jackson has been one of many to make a splash. His decision to wear a pair of BrandBlack protest cleats during Week 4 pregame warmups helped shine a light on police brutality.

In a conversation with Donte Stallworth—special to Bleacher Report—Jackson spoke about why he chose to use footwear to express himself: “I felt like I was silent long enough. This is my ninth NFL season. I have a platform and the visibility to take a stand and do it in the right way.”

Jackson hasn’t been the only person to lean on footwear as a megaphone. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has become a focal point this season regarding custom footwear, with the league forcing him to change his cleats on three separate occasions.

In Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown donned a pair of cleats that paid tribute to his four children. The blue-and-yellow spikes briefly saw the field before the NFL made him remove them or face a second-half ban.

Last week against the New York Jets, Brown had to remove his spikes, which paid respect to the late Muhammad Ali. Brown understands the violations will be keep coming as long as he wears personalized spikes. "There are rules and guidelines you've got to follow. I've just got to follow the rules," the star wide receiver told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Beyond the desire to simply express themselves, athletes have taken to speaking through footwear for the same reason they get on the field. “Athletes are competitive," said Dan Gamache, a custom designer more commonly known as "Mache," who has been tasked with creating specialized spikes for all sorts of players. "They see someone, and they want to beat them.”

Take the Minnesota Vikings, for example. After running back Jerick McKinnon tapped Mache to create a series of riveting spikes over the last few weeks, some of his Vikings teammates reached out to Gamache, looking to one-up McKinnon.

Without a doubt, competition is part of what’s driving this tsunami, and when you combine it with extensive media coverage, you are left with an NFL landscape where personalization is king.

Will this force the NFL to loosen its policy on footwear? And has it translated into sales or warranted any new attention in the cleats market?

Despite the NFL taking steps to show it understands what’s going on—such as allowing all NFL players to wear personalized cleats without being subject to fine in Week 13—Mache believes nothing will change long-term unless artists and brands are working together under the direction of the league.

There has to be a compromise, in some respects, to protect the NFL’s business relationships with brands such as Nike. You can’t have artists painting over branding logos or totally revamping certain designs.

Nationwide, cleat sales are down, despite the custom work out today, according to NPD sports analyst Matt Powell. “The football cleat business in the U.S. is down in the mid-teens for the year so far and has been soft for some time.”

Powell blames this shift mainly on a “major decline in participation,” which directly affects sales. He also doesn’t see any type of custom work or even Kanye West’s relationship with Adidas being able to radically put a dent in the marketplace.

Sales dollars may not have changed, but these custom shoes have been increasingly lucrative for designers. Artists, like NFL guys, are now competing with one another for business by putting their best work forward, Mache notes.

For now, the environment is fractured—caught between artistic expression on the part of athletes and designers and the business interests of the NFL and shoe companies. But it's a start, and as more players "speak out" through their footwear, the more we'll all get a feel for what's next.

All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless noted otherwise.