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Caleb Williams may be the new face of the Chicago Bears, but his path to becoming the franchise's quarterback was anything but typical.
A new biography reveals that Carl Williams, Caleb's father, explored bold-and unconventional-strategies to steer his son away from Chicago before the 2024 NFL Draft.
In American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, author Seth Wickersham uncovers behind-the-scenes details about the Williams family's pre-draft concerns.
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, Carl Williams even considered sending Caleb to the United Football League (UFL) for a year to avoid being drafted by a team he believed would hinder his son's development.
"I give his dad a ton of credit for at least exploring all possibilities," Florio said. "He did it in two ways. One, before the draft, what can we do to avoid this process? Looked into, according to Seth's book, going to the UFL for a year."
Carl's hesitation stemmed from a blunt assessment of the Bears' track record with quarterbacks. Wickersham writes that he viewed Chicago as "the place quarterbacks go to die."
The risky plan that could have cost millions
Carl Williams hoped that after a year in the UFL, Caleb could by the draft system and enter the NFL as an undrafted free agent, giving him the freedom to choose his team.
But the plan had significant flaws. Florio explained, "If you get drafted, the team holds your rights until the next draft. And if you get drafted again, they hold your rights until the next year."
That meant Caleb would have had to sit out two full NFL seasons to become eligible as an undrafted free agent-a move that would have severely limited both his career trajectory and earnings.
Even more eye-opening were the Williams family's demands once the Bears made their intentions clear. According to reports, Chicago's GM Ryan Poles told Caleb, "We're drafting you no matter what."
In response, Carl Williams allegedly asked for equity in the Bears organization-a request that stunned the front office and would have broken long-standing NFL compensation norms.
Florio also shared that Carl attempted to structure Caleb's earnings in creative ways to reduce tax exposure.
"Set this up as an LLC. Pay him as an LLC. Try to avoid taxes. Bears wouldn't do it," he said. "Treat the pay as a forgivable loan... so he doesn't have to pay taxes until the loan is forgiven." Unsurprisingly, the Bears rejected all proposals, sticking to the league's established financial rules.
Despite the failed negotiation tactics, the younger Williams ultimately signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $39.5 million contract. Had Carl's plan succeeded, Caleb could've made less than $5 million over the same period and missed out on the spotlight of being a No. 1 pick.
A father's bold vision or misstep?
In the eyes of many, Carl's actions reflect a proactive parent attempting to do what he believed was best for his son.
Comparisons have even been drawn to Deloris Jordan, who famously negotiated a lucrative Nike deal for Michael Jordan that included royalties-an arrangement that helped build MJ into a billion-dollar brand.
Still, the path Carl proposed would have risked both financial security and Caleb's early NFL momentum.
Now that Caleb is officially with the Bears and preparing for his rookie season, the debate over his father's decisions will likely continue-especially if Caleb thrives in Chicago, proving that sometimes the best route is the one you didn't try to avoid.