Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby hit out the NFL's uniform standards in a recent rant on a kick stream after a the league made him change shoes mid-game last season
14:02 ET, 17 Jul 2026Updated 14:03 ET, 17 Jul 2026
Maxx Crosby
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Maxx Crosby is entering his eighth season with the Raiders(Image: Getty Images)
The NFL, sometimes nicknamed the "No Fun League" by players and pundits alike, has often been criticized for not allowing players to feature their own style.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles late in the 2025 season, Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby wasn't allowed to wear pink Air Jordan 11s with "Ella" inscribed on the front to honor his daughter due to league uniform rules.
In a recent podcast apperance, Crosby, who was nearly traded to the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, lamented the league's tough standards while elevating how the NBA handles player appearances. “The NBA does it right," he said.
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"They let the players do their own shit, rock their own colors,” Crosby said on Kick stream with Neon. “In the NFL, you can’t wear any color that’s off the jersey, which is low-key lame."
"I wore pink cleats in Philly this year, I wore them for about two, three drives. They were on the sideline, my equipment guy was looking at me with a pair of my other cleats like, ‘You’ve got to come and take those cleats off because they’re -------- about it.’"
Maxx Crosby
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Maxx Crosby wearing pink cleats against the Eagles(Image: Getty Images)
"I’m like, ‘---- that, I’m playing the rest of the series.’ It was third down in the red zone, I got a sack in those pink cleats, and then I had to take them off, and I could never wear them again.”
Crosby is far from the only player to experience such a dilemma. In 2023, Eagles receiver wore neon cleats and a neon mouthguard during a Monday Night Football game so his daughter could notice him more easily.
Maxx Crosby
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Maxx Crosby is a big fan of creative footwear(Image: Getty Images)
By halftime, Brown had to switch back to his original Eagles team cleats. "That rule sucks," he said. "I really tried to bend the rules a little bit, but I think all players should just wear whatever they want to wear. They're not going to be able to fine everybody in the league."
Crosby, now entering his eighth NFL season, is calling for more flexibility in gameday outfits.
“NFL should just let us wear our own colors on our shoes. It’s not that hard. We ain’t hurting anybody,” Crosby continued on the Kick stream. “We do it every year with My Cause, My Cleats. That’s the only time we get to wear different colored cleats. That’s one game, or two games.”
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“I love the NFL, but we’ve got to have a little more fun, Roger.”