Caleb Williams Reportedly Had Life at USC That 'The Most Decorated QBs' Hadn't Lived

Amid new details about how Caleb Williams initially tried to avoid playing for the Chicago Bears, the former Heisman winner was apparently living large during his time at USC.

Appearing on Friday's episode of Get Up, ESPN's Peter Schrager explained that Williams was among the first major NIL beneficiaries that allowed him to live a life that "the most decorated quarterbacks" hadn't lived before:

"He was the first NIL baby in the draft in which, from Oklahoma to USC, he took a giant payday, went with Lincoln Riley, got there. Talking to Kliff Kingsbury, who was his quarterbacks coach there at USC, Caleb was living a life as a quarterback that even the most decorated quarterbacks had never lived before. High-rise apartment in downtown L.A., sports car, the money, didn't need the NFL like maybe some quarterbacks had in the past."

NIL deals became available to college athletes on July 1, 2021, right as Williams was preparing for his freshman year at Oklahoma. When head coach Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma to take the same job at USC in November 2021, Williams followed via the transfer portal a few months later.

Williams reportedly made around $10 million in NIL money and endorsements during his two seasons with the Trojans. Images of his penthouse in Los Angeles were posted on social media when he was still in college.

It's not like college athletes only started receiving perks when NIL started in 2021, but it becoming legal did afford someone like Williams more options than just going straight to the NFL after three years in college if he didn't want to.

As it turns out, Williams reportedly wasn't keen on being selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. In an excerpt from Seth Wickersham's forthcoming book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback published on ESPN.com, Williams is quoted as saying he didn't think then-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was a good fit.

"Do I want to go there? I don't think I can do it with [former Bears offensive coordinator Shane] Waldron," Williams said to confidants.

Carl Williams, Caleb's father, was even more explicit in his quote about not wanting his son to play for the Bears in the months leading up to the draft: "Chicago is the place quarterbacks go to die."

Wickersham wrote in the book that Carl even attempted to find ways to circumvent the draft, including meeting with labor lawyers and agents while contemplating a legal challenge to the draft process. He also reportedly considered having Caleb sign with the UFL for a year to become an unrestricted NFL free agent in 2025.

When Bears general manager Ryan Poles told Williams they were taking him "no matter what" and after a predraft visit to their facilities, he eventually decided to embrace being part of the process to turn the franchise around.

Even though it wasn't floated as a possibility in the excerpt of Wickersham's book posted online, Williams could have returned to USC. He had one more year of college eligibility remaining and would have played most of his rookie season at 23 years old had he been drafted in 2025.

Williams is only six months older than 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. He would have been younger than six of the 13 quarterbacks selected in this year's draft.

Given how nice Williams' apartment was during his time at USC combined with how rough his debut season with the Bears went, no one would have blamed him if he had decided to play out his remaining college eligibility living in Los Angeles.