Denver Broncos’ coach Sean Payton lands shoe deal with Jordan. What do we know?
With the deal, the Broncos’ head coach becomes the first in the NFL to sign a personal shoe deal with the NBA icon’s now universally famous sneaker brand.
Though the deal was in the works for a few years, the coming 2023-24 NFL season will be the first time that football fans can see one of the league’s best coaches strutting along the sidelines in his very own personalized Jordan sneakers.
Sean Payton becomes the first Jordan-sponsored coach in NFL
To hear him tell it, Sean Payton’s deal with Michael Jordan’s sneaker brand first came about in 2020, when he received an invitation to visit the NBA legend’s private golf course, Grove XXIII, in Florida. According to Payton, it all occurred naturally from that point on. “[Jordan] said, ‘I noticed you are always wearing Jordan 11s, and I’m going to make you the first Jordan Brand coach,’” Payton said. “I said, ‘That sounds good.’” With that, Payton will be debuting his new kicks this coming campaign. What’s more is that they are reported to be a custom pair of Broncos-themed Jordans that will be exclusive to Payton alone, meaning they won’t be made available to the public.
Where details of the deal are concerned, there has been no official word on figures, however, Payton stated that he has “hundreds” of pairs of shoes before joking that he’s thankful his son has the same shoe size, “because I can’t possibly wear all these shoes.” To date, Payton is one of just a handful of coaches in sports who has a personal shoe deal, and again, is the only one in the NFL.
Sean Payton will need to come good
As you will know by now, Payton is entering his first year in charge of the Denver Broncos who had an abysmal season last year as they finished with a 5-12 record. To be clear, the Broncos haven’t made a trip to the postseason since they won the Super Bowl in 2015. It goes without saying that the pressure is now on. Add to that the idea of a misfiring former Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the form of Russell Wilson, and the controversy that Payton himself recently courted by publicly criticizing the coach he replaced, Nathaniel Hackett, and you’ve got yourself a scenario where he has no choice but to do well. Of course, having spent 15 seasons with the New Orleans Saints during which time he won a Super Bowl (2009), Payton knows a thing or two about building a winning roster.
Ultimately, the 59-year-old tactician is set to look sharp on the sidelines with his new shoes but he will obviously need to do more than simply look the part. That’s precisely why the team’s preseason-opening loss to the Cardinals on Friday night will not have done him any favors. On the other hand, there’s still time to correct the mistakes that were made before they officially open their campaign on September 10th, against the Las Vegas Raiders.