NFL My Cause My Cleats ’25: ‘Empower Players To Drive Meaningful Change’
Monday, November 17, 2025 at 07:23PM By Barry Janoff
November 17, 2025: My Cause My Cleats, one of the NFL’s most impactful efforts, returns for 2025, and the league said more than 1,800 participants — players, coaches, staff, legends and on-air talent — are highlighting social issues and nonprofit organizations on their cleats and sneakers during games in Weeks 12 and 13.
In its tenth season, the player-led initiative “serves as an opportunity to highlight the collective positive influence the NFL family has in communities across the world.”
According to the NFL, Cancer Awareness and Prevention encompass 25% of player activation, Health and Disease Awareness 23%, Youth Empowerment 18%,, Social Justice 7%, Mental Health 6%; and such other issues as domestic violence, adoption, animal care and sustainability 21%.
“Through My Cause My Cleats, we have an opportunity to spotlight nonprofit organizations the NFL family supports year-round,” Anna Isaacson, NFL svp-social responsibility, said via the league.
“We deeply value the commitment shown by players, coaches and staff to make the initiative so successful, and appreciate everyone’s efforts to make a positive difference in their communities.”
Players again are working with shoe companies to design their unique cleats, which will be unboxed this week before hitting the field during Thursday Night Football Nov. 20 and thru Monday Night Football Nov. 24 and then again during the following week’s schedule, which includes Thanksgiving Day games.
Following dedicated My Cause My Cleats games, players can choose to donate their cleats by auctioning them on NFL Auction. The NFL said it does not profit from the sale of these cleats. All funds raised will be donated by the NFL Foundation to each player's selected charity.
My Cause My Cleats is being bolstered via multi-media support.
Visual elements during activation games include goal post wraps, field-wall banners and in game moments recognizing the causes players have select
“Hear My Footsteps,” this year’s My Cause My Cleats campaign, was described as a “bold expression of the power each player possesses to make their presence known on and off the field, by uplifting the communities and people around them.”
The campaign includes Dion Dawkins (Buffalo Bills) highlighting the Dion’s Dreamers Foundation, providing mentorship and support to those in underserved communities; Micah Parsons (Green Bay Packers) showcasing the Lionheart Foundation, which empowers trauma-impacted populations through programming in social emotional learning; and Jake Ferguson (Dallas Cowboys) highlighting the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, dedicated to honoring and celebrating the legacy of the Medal of Honor and its recipients.
Lead agency is 72andSunny.
The NFL is partnering with Stand Together, a philanthropic community, is building a library of player-led content to “unlock the strength within communities and inspire fans to be part of that transformation.”
The collaboration also includes new fan-facing features on NFL.com/MyCauseMyCleats, enabling fans to search for players and learn their stories, bid on their cleats, and dive deeper into the causes that players support and donate directly to them.
The storytelling will begin with the "Origin Story of My Cause My Cleats," followed by a series of player-led community impact stories including Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills), Demario Davis (New Orleans Saints), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers), Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns) and Lane Johnson (Philadelphia Eagles).
NFL partner Adobe is encouraging people to design custom cleats with Adobe Firefly’s generative AI.
In addition, fans will be able to show their support for My Cause My Cleats by personalizing and sharing an official NFL-branded template in Adobe Express. Adobe will also be announcing partnerships with NFL players to showcase their chosen causes and cleat designers in an innovative way.
Content from the creation process will release during My Cause My Cleats weeks, and will be included in Fields of Change, premiering Dec. 27 on CBS.
To encourage fundraising for organizations chosen through My Cause My Cleats, the NFL is continuing its partnership with Rayze, the mobile-first platform founded by former NFL DE/LB Carl Nassib.
By downloading the Rayze App, My Cause My Cleats participants receive their own custom ‘Champion’ donation links and QR codes to share across social media platforms, encouraging fans to support their causes.
“Since launching ten seasons ago, the integration of players and social impact through My Cause My Cleats has empowered players to expand their impact off the field and into their communities,” Tracy Perlman, NFL svp-player operations, said via the league.
“This campaign continues to uplift player voices and reflect the NFL’s ongoing commitment to driving meaningful change.”
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