The battle lines have been drawn, in the form of an $11,941 fine for Week 6 and a $23,882 fine for Week 7. For Week 8, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams decided not to wear Caddix cleats emblazoned with the company logo — and exposed him to another, even larger fine.
According to the attached photo, Williams was wearing Monay Caddix cleats made without any branding, thus abandoning his ongoing fight with Big Shield.
“Just to calm things down, man,” Williams told reporters after the 34-17 win over the Seahawks. “It was a big week, and (I’m) not here to, uh, create bullshit on any team. You know, I want to keep that to a minimum for my team. Obviously, I get a lot of media. And so, just try to minimize that as much as possible.”
He had gone from defying the league to fining him twice, to defying the league to stop him from playing in the shoes of his choice. All along, the answer was hidden in plain sight: hiding the name and logo of the company that made the cleats.
Williams still doesn’t have a shoe deal, with Caddix or anyone else. Beyond paying off fines (if appeals fail), Caddix is expected to write a sizable check to Caleb Williams. In one fell swoop, he gave the company far more exposure and positive publicity than the NFL’s official footwear partners for the millions they paid to have their logos on equipment that few, if any, viewers notice.
Gn sports
