Caleb Williams plans to defy NFL: Bears QB to stick with unapproved cleat also worn by former Super Bowl MVP

Joe Flacco also says he plans to cover any future fines the NFL throws at Williams for wearing the cleats

Oct 29, 2026 at 1:32 pm ET • 3 min read

Caleb Williams loves his new football cleats so much that not even a $12,000 fine is going to stop him from wearing them. Following the Bears' Week 6 win over the Falcons, the Bears quarterback got fined $11,941 for wearing an unauthorized logo on the field. 

Williams wore a pair of Caddix cleats during the game, and he didn't cover up the company's logo. When it comes to cleats, there are only three companies that currently have a partnership with the NFL — Nike, Adidas and Under Armour — and the logos from those three companies are the only ones that are allowed to be on the field during a game. 

Williams could have made a cleat switch in Week 7, but instead, he decided to stick with his Caddix. Williams has actually been wearing the cleats all year, but he didn't get fined until Week 6. Despite the fine, the Bears QB made it clear this week that he's not going to change his shoes because he thinks he has a better chance of staying healthy in his Caddix cleats. 

"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," Williams said this week. "It's a rough game and things like that. The cleats, they've been great, they've been super comfy and they've worked. They are a science type of cleat."

The company is known for its patented "SmartStuds" technology, and its cleats are now worn by dozens of NFL players. 

"It's something that focuses on when you plant on the hard plants on turf or grass, they call them SmartStuds, and they move when you move in these hard plants," Williams said. "They take tension off of your tendons and your joints and all of that. So over the course of a long career or over the course of a long year, when you can take some percentage — it could be one, it could be 50, it could be 12, it could be whatever — when you take that percentage off consistently over a period of time, you get to have the chance, a higher chance of being healthy."

If you're wondering what SmartStuds do, let's let the company explain. 

"Our SmartStuds flex and release under load," the company says in an explanation of the technology. "Instead of locking the foot in place, SmartStuds deform slightly during pivoting and cutting, allowing for quicker stud release from the playing surface."

After wearing them all season, it doesn't sound like there's any way the NFL will get Williams to stop wearing his Caddix, even if it costs him $12,000 per week in fines.

"I try to be healthy," Williams said. "They're smart cleats, they're science cleats, and they've been working for me."

Joe Flacco was the first NFL player to wear them back in 2024, and he liked them so much that he's now an investor in the company. Not only that, but the former Super Bowl MVP has offered to pay any of Williams' future fines if the NFL keeps punishing the Bears' quarterback for wearing the cleat. 

"If Caleb gets fined again for wearing Caddix, I'll pay the fine myself," Flacco said in a statement to ESPN. "I've worn these cleats for years, and I know firsthand the difference they make. When you're playing at this level, you need equipment you can trust. This isn't about making a statement or breaking the rules just to break them. It's about wearing gear that works for you and helps keep you safe on the field. If Caleb believes in Caddix the way I do, I'm happy to stand behind him."

It will be interesting to see if Williams ends up being fined again. If he's wearing the cleat because he genuinely thinks the shoe will keep him healthier, it wouldn't be a great look for the NFL to fine a player over what would amount to a safety issue. 

The NFL generally allows a player to wear an unapproved cleat as long as the logo is covered, so the compromise here could simply require Williams to cover his cleat with black tape or a black marker to prevent the Caddix logo or shoe design from being seen. 

No matter what happens, this is some great free publicity for Caddix, a company that has gone from just one NFL player wearing its cleats in 2024 (Flacco) to more than 60 players as of October 2026.