Just a few days after saying that he would keep facing NFL fines to wear his cleats of choice, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is slightly changing direction, and meeting the league in the middle.
Williams, who was facing fines nearing $12,000 per week for wearing an unauthorized logo, instead showed up on Monday in all-black cleats that did not have any visible logo. Williams debuted the logo-less cleats on his way to leading the Bears over the Seattle Seahawks.
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Postgame, Williams said that he wore the cleats because he didn’t want the media attention to be a distraction.
“Just to calm things down,” he said when asked why he changed his cleats. “It was a big week and I’m not here to create any B.S. towards the team, I wanna 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.”
Caleb Williams opted for matte black cleats without a logo in order to avoid fines from the NFL. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers via Getty Images)
Williams wears cleats made by Caddix, a company that says it designs cleats to help reduce ACL and ankle injuries, based on the way that the studs release more quickly and limit the torque associated with those injuries. Williams does not have an endorsement deal with the company, but says he believes in the science behind them.
However, the NFL has a long-standing partnership with Nike, and does not allow players to wear gear from other sports apparel brands. Williams was reportedly fined $11,941 after both Week 6 and Week 7 for wearing Caddix cleats, which the league counted as displaying an “unauthorized logo.”
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Last week, Williams said that he would keep wearing the cleats throughout the rest of the season, risking a huge number of fines from the league. Williams also wore the brand during Week 1 and Week 2 as well, before missing time with a hamstring injury, but he was only fined over the past two weeks.
Monday’s cleats, which Williams described as “matte black,” appeared to be a compromise.
Though Williams is not the only player to wear Caddix cleats, he’s become the most high-profile wearing thanks to the ongoing fines. It’s unclear whether the NFL will decide to let his shoe choices rest, given this compromise.
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If he is fined, though, he’ll have some help: Caddix CEO Jack Rasmussen has offered to pay Williams’ fines, and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and longtime Caddix wearer Joe Flacco also told ESPN that he would pay any fines Williams receives.
