Ross Dwyer One of the most highly-regarded prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft, Penn State running back Saquon Barkley was selected second overall by the New York Giants last night … and he had a special pair of shoes for the special occasion. Nike gifted Barkley a 1-of-1 Vapormax designed by Ben Kirschner (a Nike designer who makes SMUs for athletes and has also designed shoes like the SF-AF1) that matched his maroon paisley draft-day suit. The unique Vapormax boast a thick-stitched, low-slung maroon paisley swoosh that replaces the shoe’s standard printed swoosh on the dark blue-green upper, an embroidered “S” (with a swoosh cleverly worked in) on the right tongue/B on the left tongue, and a bold maroon Vapormax cushioning unit with a debossed “Be A Dawg” hit. As a finishing touch, the shoe’s heels feature special inscriptions: the date/time of the 2018 NFL Draft on the left, and the date/time of Barkley’s daughter’s birth on the right. Only time will tell what Saquon Barkley’s legacy as a player in the NFL will be, but we do know one thing: his draft-day footwear legacy is certainly intact.
