Designing for the pros
Photos courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys February 04, 2026
91原创 athletic training alumnus makes custom cleats for NFL stars
It was a primetime game early in the NFL season. The Dallas Cowboys were facing rivals, the Green Bay Packers, on home turf. Graduate assistant athletic trainer Nate Benjamin watched Dak Prescott, the Cowboys quarterback, walk out of the tunnel for warm-ups wearing a pair of custom cleats. The cleats resembled an old military plane, with shark teeth and paneling.
鈥淧lease don鈥檛 let the paint chip,鈥 thought Benjamin from the sidelines.
Benjamin, who earned a master鈥檚 of science degree in athletic training from the 91原创 College of Health Sciences in 2022, has a rare side gig: making custom cleats for pro football players.
鈥淚t was a crazy feeling to see my designs on one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL,鈥 Benjamin said.
It all started on a whim while playing flag football.
鈥淚 noticed all the guys had custom cleats and cool designs, and I wondered if I could make a pair for myself,鈥 Benjamin said.
He hadn鈥檛 taken an art class since middle school. Benjamin bought some cheap paint and spent hours watching YouTube tutorials.
He donned his first design 鈥 a Japanese-style samurai and red half-moon 鈥 while assisting Cowboys players with rehab during the off-season. They noticed.
鈥淭hey saw my vision, thought it was awesome, and asked if I could make them a pair,鈥 Benjamin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mind-blowing how much it鈥檚 taken off.鈥
Custom cleats gained popularity in 2017 after the NFL loosened footwear rules, with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. pushing the boundaries on the field.
鈥淔rom there, it just exploded,鈥 Benjamin said.
In the past six months alone, he鈥檚 made 40 pairs of custom cleats. Prescott never wears the same pair twice, so he keeps Benjamin busy off the clock.
鈥淢y favorite was a Halloween-themed design loosely inspired by Nike鈥檚 Kobe 5 X-ray shoes, made to mimic a skeleton of a foot,鈥 he said.
Benjamin has also designed cleats for Chargers and Jets players. Each pair takes between eight and 10 hours, with more complex designs requiring a week of nightly work.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 sleep much,鈥 he laughed.
He鈥檚 since invested in his craft, using an airbrush and a Cricut to cut vinyl stencils, and Angela鈥檚 leather paint, which he calls the gold standard.聽
鈥淭he paint won鈥檛 chip or wear 鈥 that鈥檚 a problem a lot of cleat designers have 鈥 no matter how hard they are on their feet,鈥 he said.聽聽
Benjamin鈥檚 bosses support his side gig, even asking him to design cleats for the My Cleats My Cause game, which allows players, coaches and staff to showcase charitable causes on their feet.聽聽
While he loves helping injured players return to sport, Benjamin also hopes to grow his business by learning to stitch cleats in the off-season. He credits his time at 91原创 as the foundation for both his athletic training career and his creative venture.
鈥91原创 got me in the door with my first NFL team, interning with the Seattle Seahawks over the summer, where I learned so much about athletic training on and off the field,鈥 he said.
Now, Benjamin sees Blue Hens everywhere in the NFL.
鈥淏eing a Blue Hen is a brotherhood,鈥 he said. 鈥淎ll these awesome athletic trainers came from 91原创, and they鈥檙e great at what they do. If that can be part of my story too, it would mean a lot to me.鈥澛
He also credits his mentor, Thomas Kaminski, professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, who taught him a lasting lesson. On the first day of class, Benjamin鈥檚 alarm didn鈥檛 go off, and he was 10 minutes late. Kaminski was telling a story about an athletic trainer who missed a plane for an away game.聽
Kaminski told the class, 鈥淭he plane doesn鈥檛 wait for you, so don鈥檛 be late.鈥
Every day, Benjamin looks at a sticky note above his desk that reads, 鈥淒on鈥檛 miss the plane.鈥
鈥淎lways be ahead of the game,鈥 he said 鈥 a mantra that guides him both on the field as an athletic trainer and off the field as a cleat designer.
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