Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown Says NFL Made Him Change Neon Cleats

Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown explained why he changed cleats during Monday Night Football.

Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies was asked last month why he changed his neon cleats and batting gloves during the middle of a game against the Los Angeles Angels. Likely not wanting to reveal whatever superstitious motives he had, the two-time National League MVP simply said that he "thought there were too many neon cleats on the field," so he ditched his. 

Why did Bryce Harper ditch his neon cleats and batting gloves mid-game today in favor of white ones?

“I thought there were too many neon cleats on the field, so I thought I would take mine off.” pic.twitter.com/GeLBSpX0D7

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) August 30, 2023

Monday evening, Eagles receiver A.J. Brown also ditched his neon cleats in the middle of the team's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it wasn't because he thought there were too many loudly-colored spikes on the field. Nor did Brown switch cleats to get a better grip on the field at Raymond James Stadium. Rather, he says that the NFL forced him to make the change. 

"Yes they did," Brown said in response to a tweet asking if the NFL made him switch cleats. "No Fun League strikes again!" 

While Brown continued to use his neon mouthguard in the second half of the game, he donned black cleats for the remainder of the game.

A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles had to change his cleats during the team's Monday Night Football win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  / USA Today

Each year, the NFL has a "My Cause, My Cleats" week where players are permitted to wear custom cleats. However, for the 17 other weeks, players are allowed to wear whatever cleats they want in pregame warmups but during the game must have on cleats that are "black, white or the primary team color," which would be midnight green in this case. The neon yellow cleats Brown had on didn't fit into one of those three categories.

This rule does feel outdated. There's nothing about Brown's cleats that negatively affected the quality of the game, nor is there anything objectionable written on them. But for now, this is the rule that the NFL has in place, so Brown will have to limit his use of the neon cleats to pregame.