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Adidas Transforms One of Its Fastest Shoes Ever Into a Lifestyle Sneaker

Also taking elements from a cult-favorite Y2K tech runner.

Pair of white and blue Adidas running shoes viewed from the back against a blue gradient background.Adidas
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Ethan Brehm

By Ethan Brehm

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Right now, everyone is World Cup-crazy. And rightfully so. 

But while Adidas’s F50 cleat doesn’t dominate on the pitch like it did two decades ago, there’s been a renewed love for the shoe ever since the brand revived it back in 2024.

Close-up of a blue and light blue Adidas sneaker with "adidas PARA BAD BUNNY" and "+F50 BB" text on the side.
Adidas collaborates with Bad Bunny to create a hybrid lifestyle sneaker that takes elements of the F50 soccer cleat and the Ghost Sprint running shoe.
Adidas

Now, Adidas continues its highly successful partnership with Bad Bunny by hybridizing the F50 with a cult-favorite Y2K-era running shoe to make … a lifestyle sneaker.

Playing the field

When Adidas debuted the F50 in 2004 (for the 50th anniversary of Germany’s 1954 World Cup victory), it was much different than your typical football boot. Setting the trend for a new era of cleats, the shoe moved away from traditional leather construction in favor of maximizing speed and minimizing weight.

Blue and gray Adidas running shoe with a web-like overlay and "adidas PARA BAD BUNNY +F50BB" text on the side.
Both source shoes are from the Y2K era, although experienced varying levels of success.
Adidas
Pair of purple and blue Adidas F50 BB sneakers with light blue web-like overlay and blue laces on a white background.
While the F50 is considered a performance icon, the Ghost Sprint was a short-lived experimental shoe that experienced a cult-following years later.
Adidas

Its fame only increased when Lionel Messi donned the F50 for his 2006 World Cup appearance and continued to rock the shoe for years to come. 

If that weren’t enough, Adidas then challenged itself to make the lightest, fastest football boot ever. In came the F50 AdiZero, weighing around 145g (~5oz), which was staggeringly lighter than anything else on the market at the time. This helped players accelerate and change direction faster than ever before and forever cemented the shoe’s legendary status.

Neon yellow Adidas running shoe with mesh upper and gum sole, labeled "adidas PARA BAD BUNNY +F50BB.
The web-like design was heavily inspired by the 2004 F50 “Spider” variant.
Adidas

Ghostly presence

Just like the F50, Adidas’s Ghost Sprint came about during a time when the company was trying to make everything much faster. Except, instead of appealing to a broad audience, the performance running shoe aimed for a more experimental, futuristic aesthetic.

Close-up of a neon yellow mesh running shoe with brown accents and a textured sole.
Bad Bunny also took inspiration from the wolf spiders of his home in Puerto Rico.
Adidas

What resulted was a niche tech runner that had a brief, quiet lifespan. But as the modern era of collectors began looking at the brand’s archival history, enthusiasm for the Ghost Sprint got louder. As such, the silhouette received its own revival last year.

Unexpectedly, the two shoes have now collided into a single lifestyle model.

Close-up of a blue and gray mesh sneaker toe with light blue cage overlay and blue laces with yellow dots.
If anyone has a fear of spiderwebs, this shoe may not be for them.
Adidas

The F50 Ghost Sprint

The most noticeable feature on the F50 Ghost Sprint is the web-like TPU cage that spans the entire upper. This cue is taken from early F50s — most notably the F50 “Spider” cleat from 2004 — and also the wolf spider from Bad Bunny’s home of Puerto Rico. The flexible and supportive overlay sits on top of “deconstructed spacer mesh” for breathability. 

Pair of purple and blue Adidas running shoes viewed from above showing blue segmented soles.
The midsole and outsole designs are lifted directly from the Ghost Sprint silhouette.
Adidas

Meanwhile, the midsole-outsole design feels entirely reminiscent of the Ghost Sprint with its unusual shape. The shoe’s slim profile and track-inspired origin blends together with the F50’s soccer-focused tooling to create one unusual sneaker.

Availability and pricing

Landing in the Ocean and neon yellow colorways you see here, the Bad Bunny x Adidas F50 Ghost Sprint arrives July 18 on Adidas’s website. It’s priced at $160.

About the Author: Ethan Brehm is an associate editor at Gear Patrol writing about footwear, watches, spirits, EDC and more. When he’s not shopping for his next G-Shock, he spends his time watching movies and planning a future road trip with his family. He firmly believes CDs sound better than vinyl.

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