9 Football Sneakers That Are as Stylish as Basketball Sneakers
For most sports-obsessed kids who grew up in the ’90s, there was little question that football was king. Weekly pickup games and NFL Sundays were followed by all-night Tecmo Bowl tournaments, 80 percent of which were spent debating who would get to utilize Bo Jackson.
Perhaps the only area where football didn’t pull rank over its sporting brethren was footwear. With a few notable exceptions—who could resist Bo Jackson’s Auburn-inspired Air Trainer SC?—everyone was pretty much all about Air Jordans and Shaquille O’Neal Reeboks.
And quite honestly, that made sense. Basketball sneakers were closely interwoven with the culture of their sport, and the biggest stars were marketed to the moon, especially post-Dream Team. As for football, one primarily saw players wearing cleats, and nobody was about to wear those casually. Even at the peak of Michael Vick hysteria just after the turn of the century, the Zoom Vick turf trainers typically made their way to clearance racks.
Even today, with soaring television ratings, ubiquitous daily fantasy sites, and rampant popularity, football trainers barely make a ripple when compared to Jordan retros and the like. (According to Nike’s earnings reports, the football division is one of the only areas showing negligible growth in an otherwise flourishing company.)
And yet, there are still plenty of football offerings—in the form of sneakers, not cleats—that are well worth adding to your collection. The following is a sampling of football footwear that more than holds its own style-wise next to their basketball cousins.
Nike CJ3 TrainerHoops equivalent: Nike LeBron 12 Low
Calvin Johnson may very well be the force to be reckoned with on the football field, but off it, it’s his latest signature trainer that sets the standard in the swag department. With its flexible, lightweight build and a precise balance of cushioning and responsiveness, the CJ3 Trainer is essentially a hoops shoe cloaked in a football shoe’s body. Throw in a low profile, Flyweave overlays on the upper, and Nike’s hexagonal sole pods down low, and you’ve got yourself a shoe that even LeBron himself would likely co-sign.
Nike Field General 2Hoops equivalent: Nike LeBron XI Low
The sequel to the Zoom Field General improves on its predecessor in a couple of ways, primarily in terms of aesthetics. Looking like a cousin of the LeBron XI Low—it even has the reverse Swoosh—the QB-friendly Field General 2 is simply a sharp-looking trainer no matter what sport it’s intended for (though primarily football). In terms of performance, with full-length visible Zoom Air, the FG2 would easily be just as suited for the court as the gridiron. If you’re doing literally any sort of training on turf, we dare to say you can’t do better.
Nike Zoom Vick IIHoops equivalent: Nike Air Zoom Generation
Before his terrible extra-curricular proclivities got the best of him, Michael Vick was perhaps the biggest supernova ever to hit the NFL. Featuring a rocket arm and blazing speed, Vick was portrayed as a human roller-coaster ride by Nike, who blessed him with some serious sneaker heat. With his reputation sufficiently rehabilitated, the Zoom Vick II finally returned this summer to a warm welcome. It might soon be joined on shelves by the Zoom Vick 1—Vick himself has implied that the ZV1 is due for a retro. It actually holds its own against any basketball offering; Lamar Odom notably wore them on the court while playing for the Heat (whatever that means).
Nike Air Diamond TurfHoops equivalent: Nike Air Force Max
How versatile was Deion Sanders’ Diamond Turf line of trainers? About as versatile as he was: Deion wore them to play football, baseball, and as demonstrated here by his usage of the Nike Air DT Max ’96, basketball. Of course, very little beats the original Air Diamond Turf, an absolute classic that frequently returns to shelves.
Interestingly, one of Nike’s most significant standard-bearers is now aligned with Under Armour, though he seems to still hold a flame for his former cohorts—or at least the revenues his trainers continue to bring in. “They’re not giving me a dime,” Deion told Complex last year.
Nike Air Trainer SCHoops equivalent: None needed
Like with the Zoom Vick 1, there’s admittedly a fair amount of critical bias here: The Air Trainer SC was the first pair of Nikes for many of us during our childhood. But don’t let that admission fool you since Bo Jackson’s signature trainers are arguably the most iconic football-related sneaker of all time. For his own part, Bo’s two-sport dominance helped to revolutionize the way we think about sports endorsers–and, of course, video game characters.
"We didn't know it at the time, but it just goes to show you when you have a good marketing engine behind you, like Nike, it can last almost forever,” Jackson told College and Magnolia in 2013, “and I think I was just fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.”
Jordan Flight Flex Trainer 2Hoops equivalent: Nike KD 7
You can't compare how football trainers stack up to hoops sneakers without at least a mention of Air Jordan. Sure, stylistically, most modern Jordan Brand shoes can't even hold a candle to the countless retros made famous by MJ. However, the Flex Trainer 2 isn't too shabby if you're looking to break away from the sneakerhead pack and add some versatility to your footwear rotation. The midfoot strap on the shoe is reminiscent of something Kevin Durant would rock to the neighborhood court. Hell, he might even drop 60 in these—no problem.
Nike Air Trainer V CruzHoops equivalent: Do Yeezys count?
The next potential football-themed classic? I would nominate Victor Cruz’s upcoming Nike Air Trainer V Cruz. I don’t actually know whether he’ll wear it on the field, but it doesn’t matter; this Yeezy-esque head-turner is a worthy New York-style heir to the similarly strapped Zoom Revis.
Considering Cruz’s affable nature and significance within the sneakerhead community, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Nike Free Trainer 5.0Hoops equivalent: Nike Hyperdunk 12 Low
For anyone playing in the pros (or even on the collegiate level, for that matter), the Nike Free Trainer 5.0 is the default shoe anytime cleats aren’t required. It’s the shoe you’ll see team personnel wearing on the sidelines, and it’s the shoe you’ll likely see players wearing in the weight room. When it comes down to it, though, the Trainer 5.0 is versatile enough to be worn beyond the gridiron. Think about it—the thing that has given basketball shoes such high status over the decades is their ability to be worn away from the game, and that’s exactly what the Trainer 5.0, with its sleek design and natural fit, offers for fans of the pigskin.
adidas Hurricane Cleat PackHoops equivalent: Nike LeBron X Iron Man custom
Who said the custom sneaker craze is reserved just for basketball? When Miami played Nebraska on Sept. 19, both squads wore custom cleats ordered up by adidas. Though the Hurricanes—clad in customs by Soles By Sir—took a 36-33 victory, the Huskers arguably had cleaner customs. Noted sneaker artist Mache, famous for creating footwear for no less than LeBron James, did the honors.
Nike Air Zoom Turf Jet ’97Hoops equivalent: Nike Zoom Flight 96
When Barry Sanders retired following the 1998 season, it was pretty stunning: He had just run for more than 1,400 yards and was merely 30 years old, at that time not considered past his prime. But Sanders, who once celebrated a $36 million deal by buying a used car, marched to the beat of his own drum, and who’s to tell a football player when it’s time to stop taking hits? Regardless, as the third-best rusher in NFL history, he left an incredible legacy. And his signature turf trainers also cast a long shadow. High among them is the Air Zoom Turf Jet ’97, which most recently retroed two summers ago and can still be found on shelves.
“I always thought it was pretty neat to be able to go up to Beaverton at the Nike campus and maybe provide some input and what I like in a sneaker or a cleat,” Sanders told Kicks on Fire in 2013. “And being able to represent them on the field, that was terrific to be a spokesman. And it’s great that some of the turf shoes from that era is still being worn or is making a comeback.”
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