Ever since the legendary Chuck Taylor laced up a pair of one of the most iconic sneakers in history, endorsements have been a major part of the sporting world, from Lebron James to Tiger Woods, to the endless rare Jordans for sale.
Most of the time, an endorsement works to marry together the style, personality and functionality a superstar needs to succeed, which is why certain names stand out in the world of sports shoes.
However, not every superstar is Michael Jordan and not every manufacturer is Nike, and sometimes you can get some truly bizarre endorsements.
Whether an odd choice of star talent or an odd product that results, here are some of the most bizarre sneaker endorsements in history.
Honourable Mention: Non-Sneaker Endorsements
Along with the sneaker endorsements we are far more interested in, some other shoe endorsements were truly weird to see.
One of the more infamous ones was legendary American Football player Tom Brady, who has an endorsement deal with furry slipper brand Uggs that is the one part of his ridiculously successful career that opposing teams can actually mock.
The other is former bodybuilder, professional wrestler and actor John Cena, who has a shoe deal with Crocs of all shoes, although this may simply be an endorsement of the Come As You Are campaign.
Master P – Converse
The entire existence of Percy Robert Miller, hip hop artist, professional wrestler and former basketball player, is so unique and bizarre that his Converse deal would be considered odd even if the circumstances surrounding his non-rap career weren’t so weird.
The Converse No-Limit MPs were a result of the No Limit Soldier’s multiple attempts to get on an NBA roster in the late 1990s, presumably coasting on the success of his rap music.
He made it onto a preseason roster in 1999 in the middle of industrial action but never played in an actual match, which was somehow enough for Converse to give him his own shoe to not play ball in.
Bobby Hurley – In The Zone
This is both a weird and pretty sad story. Bobby Hurley was a rising basketball prospect after winning two NCAA national championships with Duke University.
He was drafted seventh in the 1993 NBA Draft and promptly was signed up by shoe company ITZ (short for In The Zone), which was an in-house shoe line produced by retail company Foot Locker.
They were classically 90’s era bizarre shoes, complete with odd straps and air pumps, but unfortunately, nobody got a chance to see whether Bobby Hurley would prove to be a superstar player.
When driving home from a 12th December 1993 game he was involved in a serious car accident whilst not wearing a seatbelt. He was thrown from the car and nearly died. He did not return for over a year and only played sporadically afterwards.
Latrell Sprewell – Damani Dada
Four-time All-Star Latrell Sprewell was a very good shooting guard who at one point was the fifth-best scorer in the league.
However, he is far better known as the man who at one point had the longest suspension in NBA history when he choked his head coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice session held by the Golden State Warriors.
Despite this, he continued to play until 2005, and during that last year he would team up with Damani Dada to produce one of the oddest, most ridiculous sneakers ever, which for some reason featured spinning rims.
Interestingly enough, the Pimp My Ride stable had actually been popularised by Mr Sprewell himself on an episode of MTV Cribs, which might make these shoes the single most mid-2000s item of clothing ever.
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