Rex Burkhead to wear cleats honoring Team Jack Foundation

The NFL has a strict policy on the cleats that its players can wear in games. But this week, that will change.

NFL players will have the chance to share the causes that are important to them as part of the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign in all Week 13 games.

Bengals players will surely be among the 500+ players expected to participate in this effort and Rex Burkhead took to social media to share the cleats he’ll be sporting against the Eagles.

Burkhead has been involved in helping the Team Jack Foundation effort since his days at Nebraska, and Jack is the inspiration for his cleats.

Jack Hoffman (for whom the foundation is named) is an 11-year old boy, born and raised in Atkinson, Nebraska and a huge Cornhuskers (and Rex Burkhead) fan. In 2011, Jack discovered he had a brain tumor after having a life threatening seizure. Jack required surgery to try and remove the tumor (which was causing him frequent, daily seizures) and before his second life-threatening brain surgery to try and save his life, the young boy's family reached out to University of Nebraska to see if Jack could meet Burkhead. It happened and Burkhead spent several hours with Jack and his family. Since then, the two have developed a special bond. Burkhead introduced his teammates to Jack soon after and they too found it hard not to love Jack.

In 2013, Jack got to play in the Nebraska spring game and scored a touchdown.

You can learn more about the Team Jack Foundation, which works collaboratively with families impacted by pediatric brain tumors, and other childhood cancer foundations here.

Andy Dalton will be wearing these cleats, which are for the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation.

The mission of the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation is to provide daily support, opportunities, resources and life-changing experiences to seriously ill and physically challenged children and their families in Cincinnati and Fort Worth.

You can read more about the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation and donate to the effort here.

The My Cause, My Cleats initiative is a culmination of 18 months of collaborative work between the NFL and players across the league, and it includes an online storytelling platform, in partnership with The Players’ Tribune.

Many NFL players have shared stories about the causes that mean something to them on The Players’ Tribune, including Devon Still. Still won’t be playing on Sunday as he’s currently on the Texans’ Injured Reserve list. But, he wrote about his foundation, the Still Strong Foundation and why he got involved with it on The Players’ Tribune. Other players who shared their stories are Allen Robinson, Blake Bortles, Brandin Cooks, Brock Osweiler, Carson Palmer, Marvin Jones, and many more. You can read their stories here.