The NFL will ease up on their strict uniform policies for one week this season, allowing players to wear any cleats they want in an effort to raise awareness for whatever charities they support.
According to reports, during Week 13 players across the NFL will be permitted to wear colorful cleats that represent organizations or charities that they work with, or simply cleats that send a message for something they are passionate about. For instance, DeSean Jackson's "Caution Tape" cleats that he wore during pre-game warmups last weekend.
The NFL has noted that this gesture, temporarily lifting the ban on certain cleats, isn't a response to any media pressure resulting from protests during the National Anthem.
Anna Isaacson, NFL senior vice president of social responsibility, told USA Today:
“That’s not the case at all. This is an opportunity we’ve been talking about and planning for more than a year."
"There are hundreds of players throughout the NFL who are deeply passionate about their causes and charities, and we’ve heard directly from them asking if there could be an opportunity to give some life to the causes they care about. So we asked ourselves, how can we showcase what these players are passionate about, the causes and charities they are interested in?”
Week 13 is still months away, but over 425 players have already applied to wear unauthorized cleats during that week. Jordan Brand's Thomas Davis, a linebacker for the Panthers, has reportedly already decided on wearing all-red cleats featuring the logo of his Defending Dreams Foundation, an organization that works with children in need.