Caleb Williams goes all black on his cleats after $35,823 in fines

Caleb Williams found a way to keep his cleats and lose the controversy. For Monday night's 34-17 win in Seattle, the Bears quarterback wore a matte black pair of Caddix cleats on which the company's logo could not be seen, ESPN's Courtney Cronin reported, after the NFL had fined him twice for showing it.

The league fined Williams $11,941 for wearing the shoes in the Week 6 win at Atlanta and $23,882, twice as much, for wearing them again against New England in Week 7, Cronin reported last week. The total is $35,823. The violation was the logo itself: Nike, Adidas and Under Armour are the only footwear brands with NFL partnerships, and a player who wears anything else has to cover the maker's mark.

Why the cleats

Williams says it is about staying healthy. Caddix, founded in 2015, builds its shoes around studs designed to flex and release when a player plants and cuts, which the company says reduces the twisting force that travels into the knee and ankle. Williams told ESPN his joints have bothered him less in them than in the cleats he wore before, and he has worn Caddix since the preseason. He was not fined earlier, he said, because the all-white pair he wore then did not clearly show the logo. ESPN put the number of NFL players wearing the brand at about 40.

The timing gave the argument weight inside the building. Williams missed Weeks 3 through 5 with a hamstring injury, then came back to throw for more than 300 yards against both Atlanta and New England, the first Bears quarterback to do that in consecutive games since Mitchell Trubisky in 2018.

The turn in Seattle

The week before the Seahawks game, Williams said he would not black out the logo. By Monday he had changed course, and explained it as a way to keep the attention off the team in the same week the Bears traded for Jeffery Simmons. "Just to calm things down," he said.

Coach Ben Johnson had said before the game that he did not expect officials to keep Williams off the field over his shoes; the league can bar a player for a uniform violation.

Who pays

Caddix chief executive Jack Rasmussen has said the company will cover the fines. Williams has appealed the Week 6 fine, and Caddix has a hearing with the NFL on Nov. 10, according to a source cited by ESPN. Joe Flacco, one of the company's athlete advisers, also offered to pay any further fines himself.

Williams completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown in Seattle, with no interceptions. The Bears (6-2) host Tampa Bay on Sunday night at Soldier Field. Prices are on the game page, and the schedule is on the team page.