Even the NFL is ashamed of its hypocrisy after fining Jalen Hurts for QB's cleats

The Philadelphia Eagles collected their 10th consecutive win with a 27-13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. 

Despite their impressive record, there were murmurs of dissent within the Eagles locker room before the game. Philadelphia’s wide receivers expressed frustration with their struggling passing attack after a rough outing in Week 14, which stirred a long week of controversy and debate.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts silenced his critics with a stellar performance, however. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback threw for 290 passing yards and two touchdowns while adding 45 rushing yards and a score on 15 carries. Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both logged over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown.

NFL celebrated Jalen Hurts’ cleats, then fined him wearing them

The NFL dampened any celebration about the offense’s performance after the game, however. Hurts was fined $5,628 for wearing mismatched cleats that were not one of the Eagles’ team colors, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. 

Ironically, the NFL’s social media team promoted Hurts’ cleats before the game. The league’s official social media account posted photos of Hurts cleats with the caption, “The return of Jalen Two Shoes”. The post has since been deleted.

According to Rule 5, Section 4, Article 3, Item 4 of the NFL rule book, a player “may wear shoes that are black, white, or any Constitutional team color, or any combination of black, white, and a Constitutional team color.”

Hurts wore a midnight green cleat on his right foot and a lime green cleat on his left foot. Hurts, who is signed to Jordan Brand, decided to wear the cleats after his shipment of Jordan Columba 11s did not arrive on time, per The Associated Press. Fortunately for Hurts, the Nike subsidiary decided to cover the costs of the fine. 

“Went paying the fine,” Jordan Brand posted on X. “You can’t ban greatness.”

Hurts previously wore mismatched cleats against the Cincinnati Bengals in October, although that was due to an equipment malfunction. One of his cleats came off during a run, and Hurts was forced to find a substitute shoe during a timeout.