NFL Players Wear Their Heart on Their Feet
Most weeks, the NFL has a very strict uniform policy. The league makes big-dollar sponsorship contracts with athletic wear companies, and they don’t want their players deviating from these contracts. Week 14 is an exception. This week, players are offered the chance to wear their favorite charity on their cleats.
The event, My Cause My Cleats, is one of several prominent NFL charity PR efforts. The causes are as diverse as the players’ personalities, from health to cancer prevention to efforts to assist youth in various ways.
Conspicuous media coverage is part and parcel to the effort, with reports including several marquee players and their causes, including Aaron Rodgers who is supporting the North Valley Community Foundation. This organization seeks to help residents recover from devastating wildfires. Said Rodgers: “When the Camp Fire happened, I immediately got in touch with some close friends there… looked into the need and where my money could best be spent… North Valley has done some amazing things…”
Rams running back Todd Gurley is supporting his own foundation, M.A.D.E. Sports, which seeks to help young people learn how to “make a difference” in society; and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is representing the Faith, Fight, Finish Foundation, which helps people fighting cancer.
Another PR factor in this media blitz is the cross-promotion opportunities. Each of the players mentioned above commissioned their custom cleats from the same source, The Shoe Surgeon, a custom footwear designer that is popping up in several articles about the Week 14 charity effort. For this company, being in an NFL-focused article is a massive PR win, and they need to be ready for the additional publicity. It’s one thing to have a single player of Rodgers’ caliber repping your name. It’s something else entirely for fans to hear that multiple marquee playmakers are all going to you as their chosen source for custom athletic footwear.
The NFL too, is taking full advantage of this opportunity to create positive PR. The league is running spots featuring various players talking about their chosen charity, as well as why they believe the My Cause My Cleats initiative is an outstanding idea.
All in all, this is a multifaceted connection of positive charity PR, effective consumer PR, and cross-promotional sports PR, at a time when the NFL desperately needs people, both in and out of the media, focusing on positive stories about the league. For them, and for millions of football fans, it’s a welcome departure from the recent controversy.
Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. 5WPR is a leading PR Agency specializing in digital strategy, traditional and digital PR and influencer marketing.
