Fastest and Lightest: Nike Mercurial Superfly 11 and Vapor 17 Launch a New Era of Speed

• The Nike Mercurial Superfly 11 and Mercurial Vapor 17 launch in June 2026, with both available at Nike.com, the Nike app, and select football retailers.
• For the first time since 2018, the Superfly and Vapor feature different uppers and different plates, each engineered for a different type of speed.
• The Superfly 11 is built for max speed: Explosive, straight-line acceleration powered by an Air Zoom unit and ZoomX foam.
• The Vapor 17 is built for light speed: Rapid, multi-directional quickness in the lightest Mercurial ever made, up to 20% lighter than the previous generation.
• Elite, Pro, and Academy tiers are available for both cleats, with kids’ options across select tiers.

Speed has always been the point of the Mercurial. But speed, it turns out, isn’t one thing. There's the speed of a winger burning down the channel in open space. Then there's the speed of a midfielder who vanishes in tight spaces, turning one way then another before anyone can track them.

Both are fast. Both are devastating. And starting June 2026, there’s a Mercurial built specifically for each.

The Nike Mercurial Superfly 11 and Mercurial Vapor 17 represent the most significant just split in the Mercurial franchise in nearly a decade. Different uppers. Different plates. Different purposes. Together, they cover two dimensions of speed and make it easier than ever to choose the soccer cleat built for how you play.

“We saw a critical nuance where athletes are being selected between either having speed over bigger distances or having exceptional qualities in smaller areas,” Odi Nimako, Director of Product Management for Nike Football, said. “That led to a very sharp distinction between Vapor and Superfly.”

The Nike Mercurial Superfly 11 is built for max speed: the kind that separates you from defenders in open space, wins the race to the ball, and makes every stride count.

This cleat was made for players obsessed with hitting top speed. At the Elite tier, the Superfly 11 introduces an exposed Air Zoom unit engineered specifically for max speed, paired with a ZoomX foam that delivers responsive foam directly to the foot.

Together, these features create a propulsive, spring-loaded underfoot feel engineered to push you forward at your fastest. The design was shaped by three years of research and testing at the Nike Sports Research Lab, focused on how players generate force when sprinting. The Flyweave Ultra upper wraps the foot in a two-zone structure built for containment: locked-in, purposeful, with zero energy lost.

And for the first time since 2014, the Superfly returns to a low-cut profile, dropping the Dynamic Fit collar for a cleaner silhouette across the full family.

“Our current Mercurials have Air in them, but it’s hidden inside in what we call a strobel — between the plate and the sockliner,” said Nimako. “Now, we’re putting it on the exterior. Three years of research went into placing it in the area where you put most of your force when you sprint, so you get the most energy return possible.”

• Elite: Air Zoom unit engineered for max speed, ZoomX foam direct to the foot, Flyweave Ultra upper with two-zone containment for a locked-in fit.
• Pro: Air Zoom unit (Fall '24 Elite Air Zoom Strobel), Flyweave upper with two-zone containment, approximately 25% lighter than the 2024 Pro release.
• Academy: Knit cuff with dynamic containment, horizontal mesh soft-mesh build, NikeSkin upper engineered for touch, FlyLite plate (Nike’s own lightweight plate system), up to 25% lighter than the 2024 Academy.

The Vapor 17 is built for light speed: the quickness that makes defenders miss in tight spaces, accelerates direction change, and turns hesitation into advantage.

Like the best Vapors of the past, the Vapor 17 leans into radical reduction, stripping away weight so quickness can take over. As the lightest Mercurial ever made, the shoe is up to 20% lighter than the previous generation at the Elite tier.

The Atomknit upper is the lightest, most transparent Flyknit construction Nike has ever engineered, designed to deliver a barefoot ball feel that keeps you connected to every touch. The FlyLite plate is Nike's only lightweight plate system, built using advanced film carrier construction and tuned specifically to optimize acceleration and direction change at pace.

At every tier, the Vapor 17 prioritizes one thing above all else: getting out of the way.

“We asked Vini [Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior] what he cares about most in a boot,” Nimako. “He said: lightweight, needs to feel barefoot, needs to feel low to the ground. Look at what the Vapor delivers. It checks every single one of those boxes.”

• Elite: FlyLite plate, Nike’s only lightweight plate system with advanced film carrier construction; Atomknit upper, Nike’s lightest, most transparent Flyknit ever; Anatomical Traction engineered to optimize acceleration and direction change at pace; approximately 20% lighter than the previous Vapor generation.
• Pro: FlyLite plate, Nike’s only lightweight plate system; Flyknit engineered-knit two-layer upper; approximately 25% lighter than the FA24 Pro.
• Academy: FlyLite plate, Nike’s only lightweight plate system; vertical mesh soft-mesh build; NikeSkin upper engineered for touch; 25% lighter than the FA24 Academy.

• Purpose: The Superfly 11 is built for explosive sprints and max speed in open space. The Vapor 17 is built for quick cuts and agility in tight spaces.
• Plate: The Superfly Elite has an Air Zoom unit focused on energy return and forward propulsion. The Vapor Elite uses the FlyLite plate, Nike’s only lightweight plate system, designed to minimize weight and maximize responsiveness.
• Upper: The Superfly’s Flyweave Ultra upper emphasizes containment: a locked-in, two-zone structure that keeps the foot stable at max velocity. The Vapor’s Atomknit upper emphasizes barefoot feel: ultra-light, highly transparent, nearly as close to playing without a shoe as a shoe can get.
• Sockliner: The Superfly Elite adds ZoomX foam directly to the foot for a responsive, spring-loaded feel. The Vapor prioritizes weight reduction with no equivalent layer, putting less between you and the plate.
• Collar: Both cleats are now low-cut. The Superfly drops its Dynamic Fit collar for the first time since 2014, aligning both franchises in profile while separating them in purpose.
• Traction: Both use Anatomical Traction Chevron studs, tuned differently: Superfly for straight-line acceleration, Vapor for multi-directional change of pace.
• Who it’s for: The Superfly suits wingers, strikers, and forwards who sprint in channels. The Vapor suits attacking midfielders, dribblers, and players who thrive in congested spaces.

For more help choosing between the two, see Nike’s guide to the best soccer cleats by playing style.

The Superfly 11 introduces an exposed Air Zoom unit on the Elite — a visible, structural shift from the previous generation. The ZoomX foam is new to the Mercurial line entirely. The Flyweave Ultra upper replaces GripKnit with two-zone containment. And for the first time since 2014, the Dynamic Fit collar is gone. The Superfly 11 is a low-cut soccer cleat.

The Vapor 17 introduces Atomknit, Nike’s lightest, most transparent Flyknit ever, replacing GripKnit at the Elite tier. The FlyLite plate replaces previous plate construction with a lighter, film-carrier-based system. The result: a soccer cleat that is up to 20% lighter than the outgoing generation, with traction tuned specifically for acceleration and direction change.

Mercurial has always been about speed. What changes with this generation is the precision. Where previous iterations brought the Superfly and Vapor closer together, the Superfly 11 and Vapor 17 pull them deliberately apart.

• The Superfly is the max-speed cleat. Everything in it — the Air Zoom plate, the Zoom x foam, the Flyweave Ultra containment — supports the goal of fast forward propulsion.
• The Vapor is the light-speed cleat. Everything in it — the FlyLite plate, the Atomknit upper, the weight reductions across every tier — supports the goal of making you quick, agile, and hard to track.

“From what we hear from people who’ve been in the business for decades, this is one of the most iconic material updates we’ve done in the history of soccer,” said Nimako. “It’s the moment we really dimensionalized Vapor and Superfly in a way we’ve never done before, across the entire line.”

Both sit within the full Mercurial price tier structure: Elite, Pro, and Academy for adults; Jr Pro, Jr Academy, and Jr Club for kids. Whether you’re a perfectionist chasing max speed or a game-changer who lives in tight spaces, there’s a Mercurial built for the way you play.

For a deeper look at how these cleats fit into the broader Mercurial story, see the genealogy of speed.

The Nike Mercurial Superfly 11 and Vapor 17 both release in June 2026. Both shoes will be available at Nike.com, the Nike app, and select football retailers.