
Broncos star to wear new cleats after landing deal with Michael Jordan
Payton, the only NFL coach sponsored by Michael Jordan's clothing brand, loves to show off his snazzy kicks on the sideline of Broncos games and practices, and his players take notice.
It appears that Payton may have now helped reward one of his best players with a Jordan deal of their own.
After star cornerback Pat Surtain won the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award following the 2024 season, Payton quipped, "I think we may be able to get you into the Jordan shoes now."
Five months later, Surtain shared a photo on his Instagram story smoking a cigar with Jordan. Brandon Krisztal of Guerilla Sports explained on Twitter/X that PS2 is the latest NFL player to land an endorsement deal with Jordan's brand:
After Payton's comments earlier this year, it seems fair to assume that the coach helped his player land the deal. Fans will likely get to see PS2 wearing Air Jordan Cleats for the first time when Denver begins training camp on July 25.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
16 minutes ago
- Forbes
Celtics' Amari Williams Leaves Lasting Legacy With Kentucky's Mark Pope
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - JANUARY 4: Amari Williams #22 of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts during the game ... More against the Florida Gators at Rupp Arena on January 4, 2025 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by) The Boston Celtics utilized the No. 46 pick in this year's NBA Draft on Amari Williams. The Nottingham, England, native spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Drexel before taking his talents to the University of Kentucky. Wildcats head coach Mark Pope couldn't wait to insert the seven-foot center with a pterodactyl-like seven-foot-five wingspan into his lineup to patrol the pivot. Flashing a smile, Pope glowingly told Forbes of his initial assessment of Williams' game upon arriving in Lexington, "We loved him. We loved his defensive prowess. His work on the glass was exceptional. His rim-protection capability was great. He's the three-time Defensive Player of the Year [in the Coastal Athletic Association]. "So all those things. His athleticism and size, his physicality, were all really important to us. And then, the unique feature of him that fit us so well was his ability to pass the ball. Elite level passer, elite level playmaker, has the personality and the desire to be a great, great passing big, and he certainly proved to be that." Williams's facilitating capabilities have already been on display at Summer League. On the heels of getting drafted, he joined the rest of the Celtics' draft class, Hugo Gonzalez and Max Shulga, in helping conduct a youth basketball clinic at a renovated court unveiling at a YMCA in the greater Boston Area. There, he shared the combination that cultivated his playmaking prowess. "A lot of people are saying [that] by playing soccer growing up, that was my first sport, and [by] not hitting a growth spurt until late," said Williams. "I feel like those two things helped my skill set, and something that's helped me get to this level." As for what his passing and the ability to play through him unlocked for Coach Pope's offense, he conveyed how crucial it was for the Wildcats to have someone of his talent in that role. "Well, that's the way we play," said Pope. "We're very much a point-center organization. We'll turn the game inside-out and we love to have our bigs be decision makers, whether it's in a five-out offense, whether it's in a trail kind of into a flow zoom offense, whether it's having them be the playmaker out of a short roll or the Bull's head post or we put the ball in our five man's hands so that he could be a playmaker. And Amari allowed us to do all of those things." When it mattered most, Kentucky leaned on Williams "He was such an elite-level guy," voiced Pope. "In fact, he saved us. We spent the last two months of the season without our starting point guard, our backup point guard, and our third-string point guard, who was our starting two. We lost all of them. And so Amari had this massive burden of kind of righting the ship. We saved ourselves by putting the ball in his hands. "He was breaking the press off the bounce. He was leading the break off the bounce. We could use him as a pressure release to get the ball out of somebody else's hands early in a possession, so we could be settled with him starting the play. I can't overstate the importance of the impact that he had in our season." That ability to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor, or initiate a transition attack, matters more than ever. The game now operates at a breakneck pace. Williams's new team, the Celtics, is determined to play at a faster tempo with greater regularity. "It's an incredible luxury," expressed Pope. "It also allows you to take elite-level scorers, it allows you to take them, and instead of them being on the ball to start a possession, you could get them away from the ball and let them use some actions coming back to the ball early in a possession, early in the clock. So, the point guard doesn't have to give up the ball and get it back. He can start with it out of his hands, or a two guard, or a shooting guard, or a scoring guard can start with it out of his hands. "Amari can do that work of getting the ball down the floor, and then they can be the first one to come back to it in a scoring position. I think it affords coaches an incredible luxury, with how to rethink the game, which is what we're seeing in the league all the time anyway, right? There are so many bigs that are handling." Kentucky's head coach also shared that where Williams grew the most in his year in "The Blue Grass State" was the evolution of his standout trait. "I just think he became incredibly -- he was used as a play initiator before he got here, but him being a guy that was actually fueling the entire offense, he was the director of the orchestra for us, and so I thought he grew there exponentially." A look into Amari Williams's competitive character The Wildcats boast a blue-blood men's basketball program with a rich tradition and a history of winning. No Division I program has more wins [2,422]. No school has had more NBA Draft selections than Kentucky's 140. That includes three No. 1 overall picks. The Wildcats' eight national championships are the second most in NCAA men's basketball history behind UCLA's 11. While many NBA stars first showcased their talents in Lexington, Williams utilized his one year there to etch his name into the program's history books. "You think about what he did; this is the University of Kentucky," said Coach Pope. "I mean, we're talking about A.D. [Anthony Davis] and KAT [Karl Anthony-Towns], and a billion others, right? And for him to be a record-setting guy, he's the first big ever to have a triple-double in the history of the University of Kentucky, which is just staggering when you think about the talent there. And he did it in SEC play on the road with the way the SEC was this year. "So, just his everyday approach. He never missed a single rep of a single practice or a single game the entire season, was just incredibly reliable, and carried himself like a beautiful vet." The plan is for Williams to start his NBA career on a two-way deal. He'll divide his time between Boston and the organization's G League affiliate in Maine. As he strives for a standard NBA contract and to carve out his place in the league, Coach Pope detailed where Williams needs to improve to stick at the next level. "On the offensive side of the ball, being a finisher. That's a part of the game where he's really growing. He has some real potential. I think he really grew in terms of his junk game, his kind of 10-foot-and-in creative shot-making game. I think he really grew there. So, I think that's a space. "I think he's got the potential to be an elite-level defensive player switching one through five. And he certainly showed a lot of signs for that and did that well for us in important moments. "I think that's going to be important for him to continue growing and just learning the NBA game. We play, very much, an NBA style. But there's nothing like actually being in the mix." A glimpse into Amari Williams the person The Celtics put a premium on their culture. It has a significant influence on who they bring into their work environment. When asked for insight into who Amari Williams is off the court and who the franchise is getting as a person, Coach Pope gushed over his high-charactered former center. "He is unbelievable. You talk about a guy who cares about all the right things. He's incredibly protective of his teammates. He loves his teammates. He would take a bullet for his guys, and that's not a cliche. That's actually deep in his heart. Like, it matters. His locker room matters to him. His guys, his staff, they matter to him. And so he's going to be a welcome addition in the locker room. "He is a culture guy. He's soft-spoken. He's incredibly unassuming. He is willing to do whatever it takes for a team to be successful and win. He doesn't ask to bring any attention to himself ever. He is a perfect teammate in that sense."


New York Post
27 minutes ago
- New York Post
Rosie O'Donnell says she ‘expected' Trump to threaten her citizenship after ‘20 years of abuse'
Rosie O'Donnell said she wasn't surprised that President Trump threatened to revoke her US citizenship, claiming that she's endured '20 years of abuse' from her longtime foe. The former talk show host took to social media Tuesday to slam the 'absurd' attack after the president triggered a social media brawl with O'Donnell when he branded her a 'threat to humanity' in a fiery post on his platform. 'I'm safe here in Ireland. I'm out of the reach of the tangerine Mussolini,' the former talk show host said in a nearly 10-minute TikTok video addressing her longstanding feud with Trump. Advertisement 4 Rosie O'Donnell addressed her long-standing feud with President Trump on TikTok. TikTok/Rosie O'Donnell 'I have to say that I was expecting him to do something as absurd as he did for a few reasons. Number one, I read Project 2025. Number two, I've had 20 years of abuse from him so I knew it wasn't going to stop, and number three, I know myself well enough to know that I wasn't going to shut up.' O'Donnell, 63, moved overseas to the Dublin suburb of Howth with her 12-year-old non-binary child in January in response to Trump's victory against Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Advertisement She called the move a 'necessity' to protect her family, saying her 'heart couldn't take the pain' of what Trump was planning – or what he has already done. But the actress, who was born on Long Island, remains unfazed by the president's warning shot. 'Can't take away someone's citizenship, they have to renounce it themselves in the constitution, so, you know, I'm not that worried,' the 'A League of Their Own' star remarked. Advertisement 4 President Trump said he was considering stripping O'Donnell, who moved to Ireland, of her US citizenship. Al Drago – Pool via CNP / MEGA 'However, the Supreme Court has given him unbridled powers and I believe his dementia forces him to think that he is actually a king. We don't have kings in America. That's why we started America, not wanting to have kings, no monarchy. Liberty and justice for all, for all people in the United States.' Under current law, Americans cannot lose their US citizenship status even if they obtain citizenship elsewhere. On Saturday, the commander in chief raged on Truth Social that he's giving 'serious consideration' to taking away the former TV personality's citizenship. Advertisement 4 Rosie O'Donnell and Broadway cast members protesting in front of the White House. REUTERS 'Because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great County, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,' Trump wrote. 'She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!' The actress quickly fired back with a flurry of Instagram posts ripping Trump as 'dangerous old soulless man' who craves 'loyalty' and picturing him with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 4 O'Donnell said she will never renounce her citizenship — regardless of what Trump says. AP While it remains unclear what legal grounds Trump could invoke to strip O'Donnell of her citizenship, she claimed the prez was clearly 'rattled,' as she was still living 'rent free' in his 'collapsing brain' nearly two decades after their infamous feud erupted in 2006. In her latest post, the activist made it clear she has no intention of ever renouncing her citizenship. Advertisement 'I will never renounce my American citizenship,' she said. 'I am waiting happily for my Irish citizenship so that I can be a dual citizen, but I will never renounce my American citizenship, ever.'
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Fever Spark Strong Response With Sophie Cunningham Post on Tuesday
Indiana Fever Spark Strong Response With Sophie Cunningham Post on Tuesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Indiana Fever were not shy about using Sophie Cunningham as the poster girl ahead of their high-profile grudge match against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night at TD Garden in Boston. Advertisement The season series is tied 1-1, with the teams splitting the first two matchups in Indianapolis. The Sun won 85-83 on May 30, while Fever guard Caitlin Clark was out with a quad injury. Clark returned for the second matchup on June 17, but Fever guard Sophie Cunningham became the main character for defending her superstar teammate in the 88-71 win for Indiana. The scrappy game included dust-ups between Clark and Sun players Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey. In the final minutes of the game, it culminated in a hard retaliation foul by Cunningham on Sheldon, and both were ejected from the game. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Miron-Imagn Images Cunningham received a reported $400 fine from the WNBA for the late-game incident, but she was not suspended. The punishment was outweighed by the overnight popularity she gained on social media for acting as Clark's "enforcer." Advertisement In the wake of the incident, she became one of the most recognizable players in the WNBA, passing 1 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. When it came time for the Fever to decide who would be on the gameday graphic before the Sun game on Tuesday, only one choice was going to please the fans. "Admin cooking a little bit here," said the a popular reply on X. "Liking the spiciness." "Yeeeessss," praised another. "Admin with some energy today.... I'm here for it." "Spicy Sophie!!" wrote a response. "Perfect teammate for this game cover." Others hailed the choice "messy" and "based." "I see you admin, I see you," wrote one pleased fan. Advertisement Cunningham is coming off her two best scoring games of the season in back-to-back wins for Indiana. The veteran guard put up 13 points against the Dallas Wings on Sunday and a season-high 16 points against the Atlanta Dream on Friday, shooting a combined 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. "I'm not focused on the extracurricular activities," Cunningham said after being thrown out of the previous chippy contest with the Sun. "At the end of the day, I'm gonna protect my teammates. That's what I do. I'm a team player." Related: Sophie Cunningham's Outfit Makes Statement on Sunday Related: Indiana Fever President Deletes Account Hours Before Friday Night Game This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.