Travis Kelce's Bold Choice of Yellow Shoes and the Reasons Behind It
Published Nov. 22 2023, 9:07 a.m. ET
The Gist:
Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end, is recognized for his unique yellow gloves and shoes, providing brand visibility and aiding on-field recognition.
The yellow gloves, a longstanding trademark, were joined by yellow shoes in 2017 — specifically Nike's Alpha Menace Pro 1 cleats designed for "Big Skill" athletes.
Kelce's choice of yellow, possibly driven by superstition, adds an intriguing and distinctive element to his on-field persona, complementing his overall style.
The NFL in 2023 takes on a whole different meaning because it’s not just about sports. It’s also about love! And now, women around the world are Kansas City Chiefs fans because of Travis Kelce, one of the greatest tight ends of all time, who just so happens to be dating Taylor Swift. Their relationship has captured the hearts of football-loving men and Swifties alike, but we also have some questions about Kelce.
While classic football fans pay attention to the ins and outs of the game, we can’t help but notice Kelce’s unique fit. He always wears yellow gloves and yellow shoes. But why?
Travis Kelce always wears yellow shoes (and gloves) for several possible reasons.
It started with the gloves. For years, Kelce has worn yellow receiver gloves and made somewhat of a trademark out of them. This is for several reasons, the first of which is just because yellow is actually one of Kansas City’s colors. We are of course more familiar with their red and white uniforms, but yellow is also emblematic of the Chiefs.
So yellow was the perfect color choice to help Kelce’s hands stand out when Mahomes needs to pass him the ball. Many tight ends and receivers wear white gloves, but Kelce’s yellow is even more of a standout. Plus, it gives Kelce his own visual recognition. The next step, of course, is for Kelce to wear yellow shoes!
He started wearing yellow shoes consistently in 2017, although he sometimes switches colors. He rocks Nike’s Alpha Menace Pro 1 cleats, which are specially designed for “Big Skill” athletes. They’re commonly worn by tight ends, linebackers, defensive ends, and quarterbacks in the NFL. Because they’re so common, Kelce needs to stand out! So he picked yellow to match his trademark yellow gloves.
Kelce might also wear yellow shoes because of superstition.
Although the likely reason Kelce wears yellow is for brand recognition — we can easily spot him on our television screens — there might be a superstitious element as well. Fans may have noticed that Kelce often wears a wristband on his left arm. This comes from the COVID-19 era of sports, when a tracking wristband would let players know which players they come in contact with for contact tracing.
“Yeah, I mean, I really don’t have too many superstitions. I would say that if there is one, I wear a wristband on my left arm,” Kelce told Chiefs Wire. “Because of the COVID year, the COVID year was 2020, I had the best statistical season of my career that year … Well, I felt naked on my arms because I was so used to always wearing that wristband, so I threw it on, and that’s about as close as it gets for me in terms of superstition. I wore that wristband, I had the best career season for myself.”
Perhaps Kelce’s yellow shoes share a similar story. Whatever the reason, we like that he’s easy to find!
