Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby was recently nominated for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. However, Crosby will also participate in a league-wide, multi-week event for important causes unrelated to football.
Since 2016, NFL players have worn customized cleats during Week 13 and Week 14, honoring off-the-field causes that are meaningful to them. It gives the players a chance to be known as more than just football players.
According to their website, the My Cause, My Cleats program allows players to express themselves uniquely. “NFL players reveal their passions beyond the game and wear their hearts on their feet through My Cause My Cleats,” the website said. “Players have the opportunity to pick a cause that is important to them and represent their chosen organization on custom-designed cleats.”
The program tried to improve every year, making changes where necessary. According to My Cause, My Cleats’, there will be a few new wrinkles added this season, including:
- Courtesy of generative AI powered by NFL partner, AWS, Maxx will take the field in cleats he designed himself with a significant assist from AWS’s cutting-edge AI technology.
- AWS’s technology allowed for expansive customization opportunities and an expedited design process to help players showcase their causes with a personalized spin.
- For the first time, fans are invited to join in the creative process, using AWS’s generative AI app to craft their own digital version of cleats in support of the causes they love. Fans may design their own cleats online here.
Crosby’s cleats will be customized to support Pits for Pets, which specializes in educating and saving the lives of pit bull “type” dogs.
Players work hard to be able to build and use their platform when necessary. My Cause, My Cleats allows them to do that.
The Raiders have numerous players who remain active in the community on various levels. Crosby is one of the more well-known players with such a presence.
Crosby’s efforts off the field to help better the community only add to his production on the field over the last five years. Few players on the Raiders or around the league have matched Crosby’s productivity on and off the field.