"He's the next face of the league. It's not a secret."
I had the privilege of sitting down with Caddix CEO Jack Rasmussen recently and, of the many things he told me, that lone statement is probably going to ring louder than anything for Chicago Bears fans.
The company that's been making cleats for about two years now has somehow found its way into the NFL and, as fate would have it, onto the feet of one Caleb Williams.
It's a story that dominated headlines just a couple of weeks ago, with Williams having been fined by the NFL for wearing a logo that is not approved by the league. From there, we saw not only Rasmussen say he'd cover the fines, but also a fellow NFL quarterback and partner with Caddix, Joe Flacco, publicly declare he'd pay the fines.
After Williams' name was in headlines, again, against the Seattle Seahawks, the story that initially came out was that he decided to cover up the Caddix logo.
However, that's not the full story.
Rasmussen confirmed that he made Williams a blank pair of cleats without a logo and that this was completely and totally the quarterback's decision. Of course, Caleb didn't want to be a distraction, and Rasmussen had no problem helping him out on that front.
Rasmussen was just a kid with a dream, now 31 years old and a small business owner, who's grateful for where he's at. Clearly, he's done plenty of things right and, thanks to Williams and a few other notable NFL names, Caddix has only one direction to go from here: up.
Before appearing on Caleb Williams' feet, Caddix cleats started with a dream between father and son
Before he saw names like Caleb Williams, Derek Stingley, Dalton Kincaid, Joe Flacco, Jalen Ramsey, Jaycee Horn, Budda Baker, and Kyle Juszczyk sporting his Caddix cleats on the NFL field, Rasmussen was just a 19-year old watching football with his dad, when a spark ignited.
"I was 19 years old. My dad and I are watching an NFL game," Rasmussen shared. "Someone goes down with an ACL injury ... we both think, 'that looks preventable.'
"I spent the next year sitting in my room learning about biomechanics, anatomy, physics, footwear and material science."
Through all of his research, Rasmussen figured out that, if something were to give at the ground level (the studs of the cleats), the force could be dissipated before it gets to the knee or hip, for example.
Thus began Caddix cleats, whose technology focuses on rotational resistance and traction.
So, how did Williams decide Caddix was the cleat for him?
Last year, Williams' quarterback coach Tom Gormely called Caddix and said he wanted to try a pair of cleats. But, this wouldn't just be a pair right off the shelf. This would be a specific cleat fit for Williams, himself.
Rasmussen knew Williams was down in Florida, training, at the time of these phone calls.
As the kids say these days, you might describe the moment as a "say less" moment. Rasmussen was on his way to meet with Caleb in person. This was a phenomenal opportunity.
"I called Tom ... bought a plane ticket, sat and watched him throw for like an hour or two," Rasmussen said. "And after he threw, we sat down on the turf and we just talked about the cleats and how they felt. It was very detailed. I took those notes to my team in Oregon."
It took a couple of tries for Rasmussen to send Williams different pairs of cleats before they finally got it right, but in the end, they got it.
And the rest is history, as Williams is now the biggest NFL name sporting Caddix.
Caddix should continue to see their name rise among the NFL ranks, but the legality of it all will take some time
Through their journey that's now operating at light speed, Caddix and Rasmussen have remained focused on player health and safety, which is at the genesis of their company.
Caleb Williams may not be intentionally leading the charge, but because of his stardom and always having been a polarizing figure, his name and meteoric rise are only going to help Caddix help more athletes, worldwide.
Rasmussen tells me that Williams' latest cleat is one of the safest cleats any NFL athlete could wear today:
"The cleat that Caleb is wearing just got tested last month and it's one of the safest cleats you can wear in the NFL."
The interesting thing about all of this is the fact that the NFL is obviously split into several different departments, with the health and safety department being a vastly different beast than the business side.
"The health and safety [department] have been awesome with us ... they've been nothing but kind and helpful to us ," he said. "The business side is a different beast."
I asked Rasmussen if he sees a world where the NFL approves Caddix cleats on the field, and to no one's surprise, it isn't quite that simple.
"We are a cleat approved by the NFL's health and safety [department]," he said.
It's the logo that becomes the issue. Because the NFL is a business, that's where the problem lies. Caddix is unable to get their logo approved for on-field use, unless of course, they were to pay a premium to make it happen.
And, as a company that employs just four people, that's not something that's in the cards for Rasmussen at this very moment.
"We can't afford it, and that's fine with me," Rasmussen explained. "One day when we can have our logo on the field and don't have to worry about somebody being fined, it's going to be a great feeling. It's going to be an awesome feeling."
For a guy with a dream of changing sports, as we know it, Rasmussen is off to quite the start. Only having been making cleats for a couple of years, now, Caddix seems to be on a fast track towards being a clear-cut choice by NFL athletes.
As for whether or not Caddix has played a part in Caleb Williams' Year 3 leap, Rasmussen gleefully declined to take credit for what the Bears' franchise quarterback is doing on the field. He seems happy to simply be a part in Williams' story while enjoying the ride:
"I think Caleb is a special player. I know he's a special player ... he's very in tune with what he puts in his body. I will only take credit for making a product he's comfortable in.
And, let us not forget the wise words of Rasmussen, above all else. Even Rasmussen agrees, Bears fans. We've got the next face of the NFL right here in Chicago:
"He's the next face of the league. It's not a secret."
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