Caleb Williams Fined Twice Over Caddix Cleats Logo

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has found a cleat design that he believes helps reduce discomfort in his feet, ankles and knees, but his decision to wear the footwear has created an unexpected dispute with the NFL. Williams was fined twice for displaying the logo of Caddix, a start-up cleat company that is not authorised to show its branding during NFL games.

The controversy has brought significant attention to Caddix, whose moveable-cleat technology is designed to reduce rotational forces on players’ feet and lower limbs. The company has even offered to cover Williams’ fines, with investor and NFL quarterback Joe Flacco among those willing to pay.

Williams initially indicated that he had no plans to hide the logo, but eventually changed his approach for Chicago’s Monday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. He wore matte black cleats without a visible Caddix logo as the Bears secured a 34-17 victory.

The situation highlights the challenge faced by smaller equipment companies trying to gain visibility in a league where only approved footwear brands can display their logos on the field. It also raises questions about player comfort, equipment innovation and the NFL’s commercial branding rules.

Caleb Williams fined twice for wearing Caddix cleats

The first fine arrived on October 20, when the NFL penalised Williams $11,941 for wearing an unauthorised logo on his cleats during the Bears’ Week 6 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

The league issued another fine on Thursday, this time for $23,882, after Williams wore the Caddix footwear again during Chicago’s Week 7 matchup against the New England Patriots.

Both penalties were connected to the visibility of the Caddix logo. Under NFL rules, non-licensed footwear companies can have their products worn during games, but their branding cannot be displayed on the field.

Williams could have avoided the fines by covering the logo. Caddix and company investor Joe Flacco reportedly offered to pay the penalties, but the quarterback’s decision to wear the footwear became a broader discussion about the league’s equipment policies.

Williams had previously told ESPN that he did not plan to cover the logo for the Bears’ Monday night game against Seattle. However, he later changed his mind, explaining that he wanted to “calm things down” for his team.

He ultimately wore matte black cleats that did not display the Caddix branding. Williams still delivered another strong performance, helping Chicago record a convincing 34-17 win over the Seahawks.

Why the NFL restricts cleat logos

The NFL has a commercial licensing system that allows selected footwear companies to display their logos during games. Companies pay the league millions of dollars for the right to receive that visibility, making on-field branding an important part of the sport’s commercial landscape.

At the time of the report, only three footwear brands were authorised to display their logos on the field: Nike, Adidas and Under Armour.

Caddix has received approval to sell its cleats for NFL use, but it does not have a licensed branding agreement that allows its logo to appear during games. That distinction is at the centre of Williams’ fines.

The company passed NFL testing in May 2025 and was approved earlier in 2026 as a non-licensed footwear brand. This allowed players to wear its products during games, provided the branding remained hidden.

For Caddix, the restriction creates a difficult commercial challenge. The company can place its cleats in NFL locker rooms and make them available to players, but it cannot receive the same on-field logo exposure as the league’s major footwear partners.

How Caleb Williams discovered Caddix cleats

Williams’ interest in Caddix began with a search for footwear that could provide greater comfort. The Bears quarterback said he had experienced discomfort in his feet, ankles and knees while wearing other cleats.

Despite receiving pitches from multiple footwear companies, Williams decided not to sign an endorsement deal with any of them. His father, Carl Williams, then approached his longtime quarterbacks coach, Tom Gormely, to ask whether there were other cleat manufacturers worth considering.

Gormely knew about Caddix, a small start-up developing moveable cleats intended to help players reduce injury risk. The company’s technology had been in development for years, with prototypes created approximately 12 years ago. Caddix was incorporated in 2023.

Joe Flacco became the first NFL player to wear the cleats during a game in 2024, when he was with the Indianapolis Colts. The company gradually began building recognition through players and contacts across the league.

In August 2025, Gormely contacted Caddix founder Jack Rasmussen with a general message that an NFL quarterback he worked with was looking for new cleats. About a month later, after reviewing the technology and footwear, Gormely revealed that the player was Williams.

Rasmussen understood the opportunity. Having a high-profile young quarterback such as Williams wear Caddix products could help the small company attract attention in a market dominated by established brands. However, Gormely did not want Williams to change his footwear at the beginning of the 2025 season.

Williams tests the Caddix footwear before choosing a final design

Williams began working out in Caddix cleats during the following offseason. He tested them through sprinting, cutting and pivoting, as well as during indoor and outdoor training sessions.

Throughout the process, Williams provided feedback to Gormely, who passed the information to Caddix. The company used those observations to refine the footwear and develop a version that suited the quarterback’s preferences.

Gormely said Williams eventually became comfortable with the cleats after testing them across different training activities.

“We got to a point where he really liked them,” Gormely said. “He was like, ‘Dude, these things feel good. I like them.'”

In June, approximately a month before training camp, Rasmussen travelled from Baltimore to Jacksonville, Florida, where Williams was training. The purpose of the visit was to take final measurements and discuss any last-minute adjustments the quarterback wanted.

Rasmussen spent around 24 hours in Florida and left with the final changes for Williams’ customised version of the Caddix O.G. cleat.

He described Williams as decisive and attentive to the details of his equipment choices.

“Caleb is smart and decisive about what he wants, which makes the whole process easy,” Rasmussen said. “I’ve only met him once, but I got the feeling right away that his mind works differently than most players his age.

“We went through two or three interactions until landing on a final design. The differences between them were incremental, which impressed me because it speaks to how in tune he is with what he wears.”

Williams has worn Caddix cleats since the preseason. He did not wear them during the first two weeks of the season because he used an all-white version that did not clearly display the company’s logo.

Caleb Williams explains why he prefers Caddix

Williams has repeatedly pointed to comfort as the main reason for choosing the footwear. He believes his feet, ankles and knees have bothered him less compared with the other cleats he has worn throughout his football career.

The quarterback explained that discomfort sometimes appeared after regular use of other footwear. He said he could wake up following games or training sessions with pain in his knees, ankles or feet.

According to Williams, his experience with Caddix has been different, and he feels a noticeable improvement when wearing the cleats.

“I think my joints, my ankles and my knees and my feet haven’t bothered me as much [compared to] the other cleats that I’ve worn … where you’re consistently playing and you get up one day and your knees hurt or your ankles are hurt and your feet hurt or anything like that,” Williams said. “Like I said, they’ve worked for me and I feel that I feel a difference.

“That’s my opinion, and somebody else can have another.”

Williams has also described the footwear as “smart cleats” and “science cleats”, reflecting his confidence in the technology and its potential benefits.

His comments are based on his personal experience rather than a claim that the cleats will prevent injuries for every player. Nevertheless, his support has helped bring attention to a company attempting to introduce a different approach to football footwear.

How Caddix SmartStuds technology works

Caddix promotes its SmartStuds technology as a system that allows the tips of the cleats to move as players change direction. The company says this movement is intended to reduce rotational torque transmitted through the foot and into the knees and ankles.

Rotational forces are associated with non-contact ACL tears and other knee and ankle injuries. By allowing the cleat tips to move during certain movements, Caddix aims to reduce the amount of rotational force transferred through a player’s lower body.

The technology is particularly relevant in American football, where players regularly accelerate, stop suddenly, pivot and change direction while their feet remain in contact with the playing surface.

Traditional cleat designs can create resistance when a player’s body rotates while the footwear remains firmly connected to the ground. Caddix’s approach is designed to address that issue by allowing the tips to move with the player’s movements.

The company has gradually built interest among NFL players through word of mouth, social media and players seeing teammates use the footwear. Its growth has been driven largely by recommendations within locker rooms rather than conventional large-scale marketing campaigns.

Caddix gains a presence across all 32 NFL teams

Rasmussen said Caddix has 14 investors, including five current and former NFL players. The group includes former tight ends Todd Heap and Dennis Pitta, as well as current players Ja’Kobi Lane of the Baltimore Ravens and Joey Blount of the Arizona Cardinals.

National Women’s Soccer League player Kayla Sharples is also an athlete investor in the company.

The involvement of current and former professional athletes has helped Caddix build credibility and spread awareness of its products. Players have increasingly learned about the cleats through teammates, social media and seeing them used by others around the league.

Following its NFL approval, Caddix products became available for equipment managers to purchase and distribute in team locker rooms.

Rasmussen said all 32 NFL teams had purchased at least one run of the cleats. Some teams had already placed second or third orders, suggesting that interest had extended beyond individual players testing the product.

That reach represents an important development for a start-up competing against major footwear manufacturers. Even without the right to display its logo during games, Caddix has managed to get its products into every NFL team’s equipment environment, according to Rasmussen.

Caddix offers to pay Williams’ fines as publicity grows

The fines against Williams have created an unusual marketing opportunity for Caddix. The company has offered to cover the penalties, and it has rented billboards around Chicago carrying a message that it will pay the quarterback’s fines.

Rasmussen understood that having a prominent NFL player wear the cleats could generate valuable exposure. The attention surrounding Williams’ penalties has brought the company into a much wider conversation than it might have reached through its usual word-of-mouth marketing.

For a small footwear business, the publicity associated with Williams and the NFL’s decisions could be worth far more than the amount of the fines themselves.

The controversy has also highlighted the difference between being approved to sell footwear to NFL players and having the commercial rights to display a brand logo during games. Caddix has achieved the former but does not currently have the latter.

Williams appeals NFL fine as cleat controversy continues

Williams has appealed the first fine of $11,941, with a hearing scheduled for November 10. A source told ESPN that the quarterback is also expected to appeal the second penalty of $23,882.

The outcome of those appeals could determine whether the fines remain in place, but the immediate situation has already led Williams to hide the Caddix branding during Chicago’s matchup against Seattle.

His decision to wear matte black cleats without a visible logo allowed him to continue using the footwear while avoiding another potential violation of the NFL’s branding rules.

The situation leaves Caddix with a difficult balance to manage. The company wants its products to be recognised, particularly when worn by a high-profile player, but the NFL’s licensing rules restrict how its branding can appear during games.

What the controversy means for Caddix and the NFL

Williams’ experience has placed Caddix at the centre of a discussion involving player comfort, equipment innovation and commercial rights in professional football. The quarterback believes the cleats have made a positive difference for his feet, ankles and knees, while the company says its technology is designed to reduce rotational forces.

At the same time, the NFL’s rules make clear that non-licensed footwear brands cannot display their logos on the field. Williams’ fines demonstrate how those regulations apply even when a player prefers a particular product for personal reasons.

For Caddix, the attention has provided an opportunity to introduce its technology to a much larger audience. Its products are already being purchased by all 32 NFL teams, according to Rasmussen, and the company has support from a group of athlete investors.

For Williams, the priority appears to remain finding footwear that works for him while avoiding further distractions for the Bears. His decision to hide the logo against Seattle showed that he was willing to adjust his approach, even as he continued wearing the cleats he prefers.

The controversy may eventually lead to a wider discussion about how emerging equipment companies can gain recognition in a league where commercial partnerships determine which brands receive on-field visibility. For now, Caddix has gained considerable attention, Williams has appealed his fines, and the Bears quarterback continues to back the footwear that he believes works best for him.

Note: Courtney Cronin contributed to the original report.