conv.

All stories
SportsQuiet 8d · day 14

Caleb Williams keeps wearing unauthorized Caddix cleats as NFL fines hit $35,823

The Bears QB refuses to cover the logo on his Caddix cleats despite two league fines, calling it a matter of health and principle.

What to know

  • Caleb Williams has been fined a combined $35,823 by the NFL for wearing Caddix cleats with an unauthorized, uncovered logo.
  • Only Nike, Adidas and Under Armour are NFL-authorized footwear brands; players wearing other brands must cover the logo, which Williams refuses to do.
  • Williams has appealed at least one fine, with a hearing scheduled for Nov. 10; Caddix CEO Jack Rasmussen and investor Joe Flacco have offered to cover the fines.
  • Bears coach Ben Johnson suggests Williams may ultimately have to cover the logo or switch cleats since the league can bar him from playing.

“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.”

Caleb Williams, Bears quarterback · ESPN via Yahoo Sports ↗ · Oct 30

Caleb WilliamsCaleb Williams Chicago Bears quarterbackJack Rasmussen Caddix founder and CEOJoe FlaccoJoe Flacco NFL quarterback and Caddix investorNFL League officeBen Johnson Chicago Bears head coach

Caleb Williams keeps wearing unauthorized Caddix cleats as NFL fines hit $35,823
Yahoo Sports

How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 11 pieces in 4h at Nov 3, 1 PM; 72 pieces over 14 days (57 articles · 6 posts · 9 comments) Oct 28, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 28, 10 PM — quietOct 29, 2 AM — quietOct 29, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 29, 10 AM — quietOct 29, 2 PM — quietOct 29, 6 PM — quietOct 29, 10 PM — quietOct 30, 2 AM — quietOct 30, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 10 AM — quietOct 30, 2 PM — quietOct 30, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 10 PM — quietOct 31, 2 AM — quietOct 31, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Oct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — 10 pieces · 9 articles · 1 post — Google News 6, Newswires 3, Mastodon 1Nov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 2, 1 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Nov 2, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 2, 9 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 3Nov 2, 1 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 2, 5 PM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 3Nov 2, 9 PM — 4 pieces · 3 articles · 1 post — Newswires 3, Mastodon 1Nov 3, 1 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Nov 3, 5 AM — 8 pieces · 8 articles — Google News 5, Newswires 3Nov 3, 9 AM — 8 pieces · 5 articles · 3 posts — Newswires 5, Bluesky 1, Reddit 1, +1 moreNov 3, 1 PM — 11 pieces · 7 articles · 4 comments — Newswires 6, Reddit 4, Google News 1Nov 3, 5 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Nov 3, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Nov 4, 1 AM — 3 pieces · 3 comments — Reddit 3Nov 4, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 comment — Newswires 1, Reddit 1Nov 4, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Nov 4, 1 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Newswires 1, Reddit 1Nov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietNov 7, 1 AM — quietNov 7, 5 AM — quietNov 7, 9 AM — quietNov 7, 1 PM — quietNov 7, 5 PM — quietNov 7, 9 PM — quietNov 8, 1 AM — quietNov 8, 5 AM — quietNov 8, 9 AM — quietNov 8, 1 PM — quietNov 8, 5 PM — quietNov 8, 9 PM — quietNov 9, 1 AM — quietNov 9, 5 AM — quietNov 9, 9 AM — quietNov 9, 1 PM — quietNov 9, 5 PM — quietNov 9, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 1 PM — quietToday, 5 PM — quietToday, 9 PM — quiet 1–23–5
Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 6Nov 8yesterdaynow · 11:59 PM ET
  1. 5

    Ben Johnson suggests Williams will have to give in

    Bears head coach Ben Johnson indicated Williams will likely need to cover the Caddix logo or switch cleats going forward, since the NFL can bar him from playing otherwise.

    1. first by Yahoo Sports, 9d ago

      1 more headline
    2. 1 outlet first by Sports Illustrated, 10d ago · read ↗

    1 more claim →
    • chicagobearsx.bsky.social

      Pro Football Talk: Caleb Williams has arrived as a top-tier QB, in the same class as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Joe Burrow.

      chicagobearsx.bsky.socialBluesky8d ago79▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 10 posts in this stretch
    • I see an athletic difference. And Caleb creates more highlights. But in terms of actually running an offense and diagnosing a defense pre-snap, Goff is better and has a longer track record. Goff has proven he can run a great offense under several different OC's. Caleb sucked until Ben Johnson came around. Caleb is also bottom 3 in the league in…

      grandmasterPRAr/nfl7d agoview on r/nfl ↗
    • By no metric besides rushing yards is Caleb better than love. He’s got potential upside for sure but he isn’t there yet Caleb has a better oline and run game and still isn’t better than love

      theme69r/nfl8d agoview on r/nfl ↗
    all of them →
  2. 4

    Caddix CEO and Flacco offer to cover Williams's fines

    Caddix CEO Jack Rasmussen, speaking to NFL Network, said he can't explain Williams's refusal to tape over the logo, and noted both he and Caddix investor Joe Flacco have offered to pay the fines; commentators compared Williams to Bears' 1985 "Punky QB" Jim McMahon.

    “Caddix isn't in a position to tell players how to wear our products, especially when players purchased them themselves. I certainly can't explain why he won't tape over them either.”
    — Jack Rasmussen
    • RapSheet@sportsbots.xyz

      # Bears QB Caleb Williams has taken a stance, refusing to spat his custom cleats out of principle. It all brings back memories of another iconoclast punky QB. My story: https://www. espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/503433 12/source-caleb-williams-spat-cleats-principle https://www. espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/503433 12/source-caleb-williams-spat-cleats-principle

      RapSheet@sportsbots.xyzMastodon10d agoview on Mastodon ↗
  3. 3

    Source says Williams won't cover cleats "out of principle"

    A source told NFL Network/ESPN that Williams believes in the Caddix cleats and will continue refusing to spat (cover) the logo despite mounting fines and NFL warnings.

    “I think that makes sense. ... I don't agree with it. But I think down the road, you know, hiding the logo is kind of one of the ... numerous options that we have to remedy the situation.”
    — Jack Rasmussen, Caddix founder and CEO · source
    1. first by Yahoo Sports, 9d ago · also Chicago Sun-Times, Forbes, USA Today, Complex

      4 more headlines
    2. 1 outlet first by TSN, 10d ago · read ↗

    3 more claims →
  4. 1 day quiet
  5. 1

    NFL hits Williams with a second fine, totaling $35,823

    The league fined Williams an additional $23,882 for wearing the unauthorized Caddix logo in Week 7, bringing his total fines to nearly $36,000; Caddix CEO Jack Rasmussen said covering the logo to avoid further fines would be practical even though he disagrees with the rule.

    1. first by Front Office Sports, 11d ago · also Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report, WBAL-TV

      3 more headlines
  6. 2

    Williams vows to keep wearing the cleats despite the fine

    Williams told ESPN he will not cover the Caddix logo and plans to keep wearing the cleats, citing the health and injury-prevention benefits he says they provide.

    “I'm focused on my health. I'm focused on being able to be out here for the guys. And if that can give me a small percentage up and it works, then that's what I'm going to do.”
    — Caleb Williams
    1. 1 outlet first by Yahoo Sports, 12d ago · read ↗

  7. background

    NFL fines Williams $11,941 for Caddix logo in Week 6 — The league fined Williams for displaying an unauthorized Caddix logo on his cleats during the Bears' Week 6 win over the Falcons; Caddix lacks an NFL footwear partnership.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. first by Sporting News, 9d ago · also Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, ESPN NFL, ESPN

    5 more headlines
  2. first by Yahoo Sports, 8d ago · also Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Sun-Times

    4 more headlines
  3. first by Yahoo Sports, 8d ago · also NBC Sports

    1 more headline
  4. first by Yahoo Sports, 8d ago · also Chicago Sun-Times

    1 more headline
  5. first by Yahoo Sports, 9d ago · also Sporting News

    1 more headline

and 13 smaller pieces

What people are saying 7 voices from 1 site · best of 11 · verbatim