Caleb Williams has ended his standoff with the NFL over his footwear. The Chicago Bears quarterback covered the logo on his Caddix cleats for the first time this season during Monday's 34-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks, backing down after being fined more than $35,000 over the previous two weeks.
Speaking after the game, Williams said he gave in because he no longer wanted the issue to become a distraction for the team. "Just to calm things down," he said. "It was a big week and not here to create any B.S. towards the team. I want to keep that to a minimum from my side. Obviously I get a lot of media and so just trying to minimize that as much as possible."
Under league rules, only three companies currently hold partnerships with the NFL: Nike, Adidas and Under Armour. Their logos are the only ones permitted on the field during games. Players may wear cleats from another brand, but they are required to cover the logo if they do.
Williams had worn his Caddix cleats with the logo visible all season, and the league responded in Week 6 with a fine of $11,941. When he wore them uncovered again in Week 7, knowingly violating uniform protocols a second time, the fine jumped to $23,882, bringing his two week total to $35,823.
Even after those penalties, Williams initially refused to back down. In the days before the Seattle game, he told ESPN he would not cover the logo. The stance carried real risk: the NFL has the authority to keep a player out of a game for repeated violations of the uniform policy. By the time Williams took the field for warmups on Monday, the Caddix logo was taped over.
Bears coach Ben Johnson had expressed confidence over the weekend that his quarterback would make the right call. "He's all about the team and I know he's not going to hurt the team," Johnson said on Saturday.
Williams has said he wears the Caddix cleats because he believes they are safer than other options. "As we've known for the past couple of years now, I'm huge into my body, I'm huge into trying to stay on the field, I'm huge into trying to be healthy," he said last week. "The cleats, they've been great, they've been super comfy and they've worked. They are a science type of cleat."
The cleats, built around patented "SmartStuds" technology, are now worn by dozens of NFL players. Joe Flacco became the first to wear them in 2024 and liked them enough to invest in the company. Flacco has offered to pay any fines Williams incurred for wearing the cleats, and Caddix made the same offer, according to ESPN. That means there is a good chance Williams will not actually be out any money despite the steep penalties, even if the logo on his shoes is staying under wraps from now on.
