Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was fined $5,628 by the NFL for wearing cleats that didn’t match the team’s approved colors. This fine was for his choice to wear Air Jordan cleats in two different shades of green during the Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
A source, who spoke anonymously because the NFL did not publicly announce the fine, confirmed the penalty. The brand behind the shoes, Nike’s Jordan Brand, said on social media that it would cover Hurts’ fine, adding, “We’re paying the fine. You can’t ban greatness.”
Hurts explained this week that he had planned to wear Jordan Columbia 11s, but the shoes didn’t arrive on time. He had taken photos for fun during a shoot with mismatched cleats, and he liked the look so much that he decided to wear them in the game.
“Hopefully they come in soon,” Hurts said about the Jordans.
This wasn’t the first time Hurts wore mismatched cleats this season. In a game on October 28 against Cincinnati, Hurts had to play with mismatched cleats when one of his green Air Jordan 4 PEs came off during a run down the sideline. The laces were tied so tightly that he couldn’t easily put it back on, so he had to call a timeout to find a replacement. He switched to a white Jordan 11.
“I had to go Jalen Two Shoes for a bit,” Hurts joked after the Eagles’ 37-17 win over the Bengals.
In the Steelers game, Hurts wore one dark “Midnight green” cleat, matching his jersey, and one “Kelly green” cleat for the whole game. He often changes shoes at halftime.
