Even when it’s not related to his superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce continues to be a headline magnet. This week, it’s Kelce’s sneaker shopping habits that are garnering attention after his sister-in-law made a radio show appearance
Kylie Kelce, the wife of Travis’ brother and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason, stopped by the Eagles-centric WIP Midday Show on Wednesday. While being quizzed by the show’s hosts to find out how well she knows the brothers, Kylie was asked which of the Kelces spent their first NFL paycheck on “Marty McFly shoes” — aka the unforgettable Nike Mag from Back to the Future Part II. Without hesitation, she named Travis.
“It would never be my husband,” Kylie said. “Early on when [Jason and I] were dating, Travis came into town, I think with the Marty McFly shoes, into Philly. I didn’t have a chance to meet Travis that time, but Jason told me after the fact how much of a hard time he gave Travis after Travis divulged how much he spent on the shoes… They’re so cool, but he deserved a little flack for that one.”
The Nike Mag shoes are undoubtedly one of the brand’s most iconic designs. Originally created by longtime Nike designer Tinker Hatfield in partnership with Universal Pictures for the 1989 film, the shoes were worn by Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly character and famously featured self-tying shoelaces. For decades, the Nike Mag seemed like it would live only as a fictional movie prop.
However, in 2011, Nike, Hatfield and the brand’s former innovation director, Tiffany Beers, made the shoe a reality. Equipped with LED lights, the first iteration of the Nike Mag was auctioned on eBay in September ’11 with proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s disease. 1,500 pairs were made available on eBay and Nike itself auctioned an additional 10 pairs. Five years later in 2016, Nike introduced what it called E.A.R.L. (Electro Adaptive Reactive Lacing) and brought self-lacing technology to the famous sneaker. Only 89 pairs of that version were made available via a raffle.
While some outlets are citing StockX’s current highest asking price of $38,500 for the ’11 Nike Mag as the amount Travis paid, the NFL star actually managed to get the shoes for a fraction of that amount. During a May 2023 episode of his New Heights podcast with brother Jason, Travis admitted to the expensive purchase.
“They weren’t cheap,” Travis said. “I was like listen, I got a lot in the bank account, I’ll just spend 10 grand on some shoes right now.”
Readers can watch both clips below.
