Travis Hunter made headlines when he chose to become an Adidas athlete. Despite his former head coach Deion Sanders being one of the most celebrated Nike signature athletes to date. The news came as an unconditional surprise to sneakerheads and sports fans across the board. With many examples of Travis Hunter sneaking into Deion Sanders’ office to “steal” sneakers, many believed he was on his way to be the next big Nike Signature athlete. Travis Hunter seemed to have different plans.
During the weekend of Super Bowl 59 while doing media, Travis Hunter spoke about NBA star Anthony Edwards during his upcoming AE1 release as an Adidas shoe he’d like to see made into a football cleat. It appears Anthony Edwards and Adidas delivered just in time for Travis Hunter’s NFL regular season debut.
In an ad made by Adidas, Travis Hunter can be seen fishing. As the camera leaves a cell phone on a car dashboard and zooms in towards Travis, he reaches down to pull something out of his cooler. What he pulls out is a pair of Adidas AE2 football cleats in White, Black and Teal green laces. Fans will need to tune into the Panthers at Jaguars game on September 7th to see if Travis Hunter in fact does debut the AE2 football cleat in his regular season debut.
If Hunter dons the AE2 cleat, it would follow a signature path often taken. The Michael Jordans, Lebron James, and Michael Vicks of the landscape had signature shoes ready to release for their rookie debut. Even a name as big as Deion Sanders didn’t get his own signature until five years in the league. Many signature athletes will wear a famous in-brand shoe that belongs to another athlete while the company designs their future signature shoe. Trae Young wore the Jordan 39 last season. Angel Reese wore an Iverson lifestyle shoe while Caitlin Clark has been wearing Nike Kobes prior to her signature release.
Following Hunter’s signing with Adidas, it was always assumed he would get his own shoe, but even a "Unicorn" like Travis Hunter doesn’t guarantee his own signature in year one. Facilitating what Hunter wanted, even if from another sport, is a stroke of genius by Adidas who is clearly trying to cut into Nike’s market share. Travis Hunter wearing the signature cleat version of arguably Adidas’ biggest current name could prove to be more than just a smart strategic decision.
Travis Hunter and the Jacksonville Jaguars welcome the Carolina Panthers to Everbank Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
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