In the excerpts from the new book, American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, journalist and author, Seth Wickersham details how Caleb Williams and his father, Carl, did not want the eventual first overall pick to go to the Chicago Bears, claiming that “Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die”.
The elder Williams also called the rookie wage scale “unconstitutional” and flirted with the possibility of having Caleb sign with the United Football League (UFL), only to then join the NFL as an undrafted free agent soon afterwards.
This would have allowed him to not be shackled by the lower earnings for players on rookie contracts, and – perhaps more importantly – join any franchise of his choosing. A franchise that could well have been division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, whom both Williams were enamored with after to speaking to head coach, Kevin O’Connell.
One figure who did not take kindly to the two Williams’ reported behaviour pre-draft was NFL legend and current CBS sports analyst, Boomer Esiason, who took some deep shots at the second year quarterback.
Boomer went off on Caleb Williams amid reports that he wanted to avoid the Bears to the point where he and his family looked to sidestep the CBA ð³ pic.twitter.com/Tk6N1zQXSa
â WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) May 16, 2025
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Esiason Delivers Harshly Worded Message To Williams
GettyBoomer Esiason at ‘The NFL Today’ Exhibit, New York City, January 2024
“A lot of these kids and their parents are, nowadays – and the level of entitlement is breathtaking,” Esiason said on his ‘Boomer and Gio’ show on WFAN Sports Radio, “Itâs no wonder why he failed initially and itâs no wonder why the coach got fired. So now they go out and get an offensive coach in Ben Johnson.
The former 4 x Pro Bowler critiqued Williams’ attitude towards Chicago, and emphasized the importance of him looking taking leadership to steer his new franchise in the right direction.
“And you know what? Now itâs on his ass. Itâs going to be on his ass to live up to these so-called lofty expectations that he has for himself and that his father has for his son. I understand that there could be a discussion, âhey this is where quarterbacks go to die.â Well, go fix it. Be the reason that the team is going to turn it around and you be the player that you think you are.”
Esiason also sent a fairly blunt message to the Bears franchise QB, telling him to let his actions – rather than his words, do the talking.
“And I would just tell him, ‘Keep your mouth shut, you’re going into the greatest league that there has ever been for the sport that we all love; you’re going to have a chance one day to make $500 million because guys like me and guys before me all went out on strike so you could make more money. So keep your pie-hole shut and go out and play football and earn your keep and earn your respect.’”
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