Spike Lee, in the guise of his famed Mars Blackmon character, once said “It’s gotta be the shoes.” Apparently Noah Lyles agrees, as he celebrated his 100M gold in Paris by announcing his interest in having his own sneaker.
Lyles is an Adidas athlete and was seen running in a pair of Adizero Y-3 spikes in Paris on Sunday. Sportico reports that Lyles recently signed a lucrative new deal with the Three Stripes, one it says is “reportedly the richest in track and field since Usain Bolt’s deal with Puma.” And, no, Lyles doesn’t want his own spikes, he wants his own SNEAKER. That’s where the money is, he thinks. And he’s right.
Traditionally, track athletes have not been signature sneaker athletes in the past. For the most part, it’s been NBA players have gotten their own signature sneakers, although a few baseball and football players have also broken through to join the signature ranks as well. And as Matt Welty of Complex noted on X on Sunday night, a sneaker for a track athlete would not be unprecedented. Believe it or not, Michael Johnson had a trainer of his own during his athletic heyday.
So, could we see a Noah Lyles signature sneaker? If I’m Adidas, why not? You’ve already got Lyles under contract and the brand is actually on a bit of an upswing thanks to Anthony Edwards’ AE 1 and some of the brand’s Adidas Originals models. After a dark period following all the drama surrounding Kanye West and the brand’s Yeezy partnership blowing up, Adidas has regained momentum. Why not tap into this moment where Lyles is the fastest man in the world and attempt to capitalize? Not to mention the fact that Nike is in something of a creative drought at the moment. If Adidas could produce a running shoe endorsed by Lyles that captures the imagination of a younger generation, the Three Stripes could finally challenge the Swoosh’s dominance of the sneaker market.
Lyles has the type of personality where’s he not afraid to be brash and draw attention to himself, so I’m sure he’d go all out promoting a signature sneaker. And if it doesn’t work you just drop the signature line. There’s really very little to lose for Adidas here. At the very least it would be interesting. And interesting is good — and much needed right now — when it comes to sneakers.
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