KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The field will be a bit more colorful this Sunday as the NFL marks the 2021 My Cause My Cleats week.
Players across the league, including the Kansas City Chiefs, will get to wear custom-designed cleats that support a cause close to their hearts.
Leading up to their Sunday night game against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs are showing off players’ cleats on social media.
A few players will be representing their foundations this weekend. Tight end Travis Kelce’s cleats promote the 87 & Running Foundation.
“This is my own personal foundation, and we work hard to empower disadvantaged youth to achieve success by providing resources and cultivating their talent in areas of education, business, athletics, STEM, and the arts,” Kelce wrote.
His cleats are black and white on top with the 87 & Running logo but covered in crazy colors on the bottom.
Similarly, the Chiefs’ star quarterback will also represent his foundation. Fans will find a tribute to Patrick Mahomes’ 15 and the Mahomies Foundation on his custom cleats this Sunday.
On the side of Mahomes’ cleats, there’s a nod to the foundation’s latest initiative “Read for 15,” urging families to read with their children every day for 15 minutes for 15 weeks.
Mahomes’ foundation is also teaming up with metro nonprofits to give 25,000 books to schools across the Kansas City area.
Safety Tyrann Mathieu’s cleats are also supporting his foundation, the Tyrann Mathieu Foundation.
“Our goal is to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities, and resources to achieve their dreams in Kansas City and my hometown of New Orleans,” Mathieu wrote.
Just a week ago, Mathieu and his foundation joined forces with Harvesters and a local food pantry to give away hundreds of Thanksgiving dinners to families in need for the sixth year.
Other Chiefs players are going beyond personal foundations and supporting national organizations for the 2021 My Cause My Cleats.
Kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City designed corner L’Jarius Sneed’s custom cleats this year.
It’s an organization he’s also partnered with to create the L’Jarius Sneed Dreambuilders Fund, which gives kids the opportunity to do things they love without worrying about finances.
“The kids, that’s the first thing I was doing it for, you know, just to help them out,” Sneed said in a video from the Chiefs. “I didn’t have that when I was little so I always wanted to give back to the kids.”
Covered in flames and waves — along with “hi” upfront and “bye” in the back — these cleats are sure to catch some attention on game day.
Orlando Brown Jr.’s cleats support an organization called JDRF and its Kansas/Missouri chapter, which funds type 1 diabetes research and provides many other services.
It’s a cause close to home for the Chiefs’ offensive tackle.
“My dad, who passed away when I was in high school, had diabetes. My brother and my good friend, Mark Andrews, also have diabetes,” Brown wrote. “I have seen, first hand, the effects of the disease and also how much the research benefits those affected by it.”
Chiefs guard Andrew Wylie hopes his cleats will raise awareness for Signatures for Soldiers.
The organization was launched in 2014 and sells autographed sports cards and memorabilia to raise money for Military Missions in Action.
“Being a collector of trading cards and other memorabilia, I appreciate what signatures for soldiers is doing to help raise money for Military Missions In Action,” Wylie said.
MMIA has completed more than 700 building projects and helped furnish more than 500 veterans’ homes over the years. It’s also shipped more than 63,000 care packages to active service members. In all, the organization has helped 58,000 veterans of all eras.
See the charities other Chiefs players selected for this week’s My Cause My Cleats game on the team’s website.