Ravens Insider: 2 ex-Ravens are investing in a cleat company that they hope can change football

[ExtremeRavens]

Todd Heap was scrolling through Instagram when he saw a video that piqued his interest. The former longtime Ravens tight end quickly dove down the rabbit hole.

He watched every video and read every post about this newly formed company, Caddix, trying to revolutionize cleats that alleviate injuries without sacrificing performance. It had all the makings of a successful venture, Heap thought. So he called his former teammate-turned-business-partner, Dennis Pitta.

After learning more about Caddix and meeting with its 29-year-old founder Jack Rasmussen, of Catonsville, Heap and Pitta bought in.

On Thursday, the two Ravens legends announced their investment in Caddix and acceptance of advisory roles with the cleat company.

“To be very frank,” said Pitta, a six-year tight end and 2013 Super Bowl champion with Baltimore, “guys probably don’t pay a lot of attention to their cleats, and cleats haven’t changed a lot throughout the course of my lifetime. … There hasn’t been much innovation.”

Rasmussen’s cleat uses Caddix SmartStuds to reduce the rotational force responsible for knee and ankle injuries — the highest burden of injury in terms of time lost among NFL players, according to league data.

About a decade ago, Rasmussen was sitting at home watching football with his dad and Caddix’s co-founder, Jeff, when a player’s foot cut into the grass and his knee gave out. Watching an open-field ACL tear on TV felt like a call to action.

“I kind of became obsessed with it,” Rasmussen said.

He was living in his parents’ garage trying to figure out the way cleats worked — how they spin and give and rotate and interact with real versus artificial grass. He read all sorts of dissertations and extensive studies that, Rasmussen admitted, he wasn’t mentally equipped for. The early designs were him throwing ideas at a wall until something stuck.

What he eventually created was a cleat with studs that flex slightly — enough to reduce the risk of injury but not so much that the athlete can feel the difference.

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The two former Ravens share in other business ventures but this one was sparked by lived experience.

Pitta injured his hip multiple times on noncontact plays, which prematurely ended his career. Heap missed 10 games because of an ankle injury in 2004 — a year after artificial turf was installed at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I remember the feeling distinctly of my cleat getting stuck in the turf,” said Heap, a member of the Ravens’ Ring of Honor. “If there was any type movement, any type of release or reduction in torque or force, would it have changed my career?”

Caddix launched in January, and one of its videos has surpassed 1.3 million views on Instagram. One of those views was from Heap. Rasmussen’s direct messages were flooded but Heap’s name jumped off the page. “I’m like, there’s no way. There’s gotta be two Todd Heaps in the world,” the lifelong Ravens fan said.

Heap confirmed it was him and told Rasmussen he was interested in the product. He had “a million questions” and said if Rasmussen was ever in Phoenix they should grab lunch. “Oh, yeah,” he said, “I’m always in Phoenix.”

Rasmussen is never in Phoenix. But he wasn’t about to tell Heap that. He happened to be in Colorado, got in his car and drove about 12 hours to meet him, breaking bread and giving his pitch.

Then Heap and Pitta were introduced to the rest of Rasmussen’s team. Part of the process of due diligence, Heap said, before investing their time and resources.

Dr. Kirk McCullough, who worked as the Kansas City Chiefs team doctor and on the NFL Foot and Ankle Committee, was a major selling point. I-Generator founders Peter Rueeger and Michael Steszyn have worked with every major shoe brand. Now, they’re helping Caddix with material and design consulting.

“They have a high-level team and they’re doing things the right way,” Pitta said. “That, first and foremost, allows you to believe that this could be something important.”

Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun

Former Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta, shown before a 2013 game against the Vikings, had his career cut short by injuries. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)

Both Heap’s and Pitta’s first concern was whether an athlete would feel the design change. Or worse, whether it might hinder performance. Those fears were alleviated once they tried the cleats out for themselves. Heap also gave his son a pair the cleats to test, too, and “he hasn’t taken them off his feet since he put them on.”

Rasmussen joked that his two Ravens business partners are one call away from just about anybody on the planet. They’ve helped introduce the product to numerous former teammates. Rasmussen even made it to a practice in Owings Mills to show coach John Harbaugh, who gave his daughter a pair of girls soccer cleats.

Joe Flacco, who threw to both Heap and Pitta in Baltimore, has been rocking an Indianapolis Colts-inspired blue-and-white pair through his new team’s preseason. Pitta said his old quarterback, now 39 years old, plans to wear them into the regular season, too.

“He doesn’t have any financial involvement,” Pitta said, “but he believes in the product because he’s tested it firsthand.”

Between Rasmussen, a Maryland native, and Heap and Pitta — two NFL veterans who consider Baltimore home — there’s been some push for targeting local. The trio even filmed a commercial last month taking the cleats around the city and into M&T Bank Stadium.

Caddix plans to release its cleats to the public in December.

“The coolest part about this for us,” Pitta said, “not only it’s a great product but the fact that it’s a Baltimore-based company is really cool. We can kind of help grow and be a part of a Baltimore company and just continue to have those Baltimore ties in our lives. I think that means the most to both Todd and I.”

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