Football Cleat Technology

[Jim Beankie]

I'm not sure if any of y'all have noticed, but world records in Track and Field have been falling left and right due to carbon plate shoe technology for long sprints and distance. These shoes can be silly expensive ($250 for a pair). The recent shockingly shattered Women's WR in the 100m hurdles (by someone who's my wife's height - a tiny 5'1") were run in spikes meant for 5-10km races (a lot of sprinters have been using long distance shoes because of improved performance). As someone who knows absolutely nothing about football cleats, I'm wondering if that has spilled over yet to the NFL. I have to guess it must, but it took me more than a few minutes to find maybe two of them (Nike Vapor Edge Elite 360 Flyknit or maybe Alpha Menace Elite for $200), so I dunno. Do teams provide cleats via a sponsor or do individual players get to choose their own brand/cleats? This tech improvement is basically like those high tech swim suits from over a decade ago that resulted in records just falling all over the place. If you're not on it, you're already a step behind. Plus, it can also alleviate fatigue over the course of a game because the Nike patent says the word "spring" in it a number of times.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I'm not sure if any of y'all have noticed, but world records in Track and Field have been falling left and right due to carbon plate shoe technology for long sprints and distance. These shoes can be silly expensive ($250 for a pair). The recent shockingly shattered Women's WR in the 100m hurdles (by someone who's my wife's height - a tiny 5'1") were run in spikes meant for 5-10km races (a lot of sprinters have been using long distance shoes because of improved performance). As someone who knows absolutely nothing about football cleats, I'm wondering if that has spilled over yet to the NFL. I have to guess it must, but it took me more than a few minutes to find maybe two of them (Nike Vapor Edge Elite 360 Flyknit or maybe Alpha Menace Elite for $200), so I dunno. Do teams provide cleats via a sponsor or do individual players get to choose their own brand/cleats? This tech improvement is basically like those high tech swim suits from over a decade ago that resulted in records just falling all over the place. If you're not on it, you're already a step behind. Plus, it can also alleviate fatigue over the course of a game because the Nike patent says the word "spring" in it a number of times.

We know they have to look uniform, there's a rule on that.

It sounds weird that in track and field, something that has different tech in it -- the "spring" word baffles me -- would be legal. I mean, bring back stickem, right?

So anyway, I went googling and found...

Carbon-Plated Shoes Cut In Half, Explained and Lab-Tested

This guide covers what to expect from carbon plated shoes, how much they ca

runrepeat.com

The most comprehensive studies have been conducted based on the Vaporflys. Nike’s claim that the shoes allow for the 4% improvement in the running economy was confirmed (here, here and here). Translated to running performance, this means 2-3% better finish times.

It's funny, linking up the carbon plate thing with "nfl" isn't turning up anything except this post on Patsfans. Seriously dude you are on page 1 of google results as of now.

Looking at the dissection video (above,) then looking at NFL cleats, what stands out is that the NFL cleats need to dig into the turf. It's just not a track meet. So I wonder if the technology is less valid when you're sinking the cleat into the ground on purpose instead of springing back with each step. If it's all about some sorta fancy "energy storage" maybe it would just drive the cleat in deeper on an NFL shoe. Idunno. If they're not coming to the NFL, that might be why.

I'm just the most bored and verbose guy here, not the smartest one. Okay I actually am the smartest one, but the rest of us suffer from the dunning-krueger effect and also think they are smart. Funny right?

 

[borg]

"track to offer a benefit of as much as 2 percent to competitors."

New 'trampoline tracks' at Tokyo 2020 explain why so many records being broken - MyJoyOnline

The clock stationed just past the finish line flashed 10.60 seconds and the letters “NEW OR,” meaning “new Olympic record,” when Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica won the women’s 100 meters on Saturday night. Thompson-Herah had not only retained the 100-meter Olympic title she won in Rio de...

www.myjoyonline.com

 

[Pape]

I'm not sure if any of y'all have noticed, but world records in Track and Field have been falling left and right due to carbon plate shoe technology for long sprints and distance. These shoes can be silly expensive ($250 for a pair). The recent shockingly shattered Women's WR in the 100m hurdles (by someone who's my wife's height - a tiny 5'1") were run in spikes meant for 5-10km races (a lot of sprinters have been using long distance shoes because of improved performance). As someone who knows absolutely nothing about football cleats, I'm wondering if that has spilled over yet to the NFL. I have to guess it must, but it took me more than a few minutes to find maybe two of them (Nike Vapor Edge Elite 360 Flyknit or maybe Alpha Menace Elite for $200), so I dunno. Do teams provide cleats via a sponsor or do individual players get to choose their own brand/cleats? This tech improvement is basically like those high tech swim suits from over a decade ago that resulted in records just falling all over the place. If you're not on it, you're already a step behind. Plus, it can also alleviate fatigue over the course of a game because the Nike patent says the word "spring" in it a number of times.

advances in shoe tech? i'm sure if it can be applied to nfl cleats, they are using it...

and $250? sounds pretty cheap for a high tech shoe imo... but meh, they got the money

 

[Jim Beankie]

Looking at the dissection video (above,) then looking at NFL cleats, what stands out is that the NFL cleats need to dig into the turf. It's just not a track meet. So I wonder if the technology is less valid when you're sinking the cleat into the ground on purpose instead of springing back with each step. If it's all about some sorta fancy "energy storage" maybe it would just drive the cleat in deeper on an NFL shoe. Idunno. If they're not coming to the NFL, that might be why.

That's a great point. I occasionally still do sprints (regular shoes - not track spikes or cleats) on what I assume to be a top of the line artificial football turf that I have access to, and there is certainly a little more give even there. Once the ground starts getting harder in the winter, though, that's when the benefits would start to become more apparent with this "spring" technology. I personally haven't tried them yet because I feel like once I start using them, there's no going back.

There is mention of this in soccer which faces the same issues that you'd brought up:

New carbon-plate boots give speed boost at Champions League

New lightweight soccer boots, or cleats, featuring carbon-fiber plates have been giving players a speedy edge at the...

www.usatoday.com

 

[Jim Beankie]

"track to offer a benefit of as much as 2 percent to competitors."

New 'trampoline tracks' at Tokyo 2020 explain why so many records being broken - MyJoyOnline

The clock stationed just past the finish line flashed 10.60 seconds and the letters “NEW OR,” meaning “new Olympic record,” when Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica won the women’s 100 meters on Saturday night. Thompson-Herah had not only retained the 100-meter Olympic title she won in Rio de...

www.myjoyonline.com

Thanks for bringing that up, as it's definitely contributing to the faster times, as well.

 

[Jim Beankie]

advances in shoe tech? i'm sure if it can be applied to nfl cleats, they are using it...

and $250? thats pretty cheap imo for a high tech show

You're probably right. John Ross wore the carbon plate technology back in 2017 when he broke the combine record.

How John Ross cost himself an island when he broke the NFL combine's 40-yard dash record

The NFL combine's 40-yard dash is always a big deal, and former Washington wide receiver John Ross made this year's a memorable one by running it in 4.22 seconds, breaking the previous 4.24 mark held by Chris Johnson from 2008. But Ross really could

ftw.usatoday.com

 

[Jim Beankie]

Dang - a site like this exists:

Lockers

www.whatproswear.com

Example:

DK Metcalf's Nike Vapor Untouchable Pro 3 Cleats

For the first game of the 2021 season, DK Metcalf wore the Nike Vapor Untouchable Pro 3 cleats. DK has been signed with Under Armour since he entered the league in 2019 so it’s strange to see him repping the swoosh. He did wear the Vapor Untouchable Pro 3 during […]

www.whatproswear.com

 

[Pape]

I am kinda shocked with how low the price is ... A good pair of leather walking shoes costs over $300... Figured high performance cleats would cost more... It's not like Nike shoes are cheap...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

So two things.

1) If Tyquan Thornton is already using something like this, how sad, some of that advantage might go away.
2) If he isn't, get him some, assuming the advantage translates to the NFL, because I want to see how Einstein's predictions hold up.

 

[Jim Beankie]

So two things.

1) If Tyquan Thornton is already using something like this, how sad, some of that advantage might go away.
2) If he isn't, get him some, assuming the advantage translates to the NFL, because I want to see how Einstein's predictions hold up.

It looks like he's wearing Adidas Adizero 11 (guessing) which I don't think has a carbon plate, but he could easily get it custom made with one if that's his sponsor, so no idea.

Interesting that something like DK's Nike Vapor Untouchable Pro 3 would have a carbon plate, but Jakobi's (based on pictures) Nike Vapor Untouchable Speed 3 wouldn't (assuming a non custom shoe). Then again, since the carbon plate usually is less compliant / stiffer, then switching could completely affect gait / timing / ability to cut / increase chance of injury.

 

[Jim Beankie]

I am kinda shocked with how low the price is ... A good pair of leather walking shoes costs over $300... Figured high performance cleats would cost more... It's not like Nike shoes are cheap...

I only live in running land, but before the carbon plate boom, good shoes would cost in the low to mid $100s, and when I was cranking out over 100 miles a week, I'd push them to the limit for 2-4 months before I'd have to get another pair. That adds up (although sometimes I'd luck out at the outlet with the shoe that I wanted and buy 5 pairs for a third that). These new carbon plate shoes are really only good for about 200-300 miles before they turn into pumpkins.

 

[Clonamery]

Football cleats have more to them than track spikes (as we used to call them).

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I wish I could still run

 

[Jim Beankie]

I wish I could still run

As I've gotten older, I've embraced walking (not that straight leg racewalking though). I can still get my heart rate up pretty high.