As the No. 1 overall pick, Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams has a lot of eyes on him. As a matter of fact, he’s had millions of eyes on him for years now as his hype was built throughout his college career.
One of the traditions Williams has that riles people up the most is painting his nails before every game. Why exactly does he do it, though?
Why Does Caleb Williams Paint His Nails Before Games?
According to Williams, who spoke to USC legend Matt Leinart last October, he’s been doing the nails tradition for four years now.
The main reason why? His mom has worked as a nail technician his entire life. He also just likes to be a trendsetter.
“It was my last year of high school. My mom does nails. Let’s just start it off there,” said Williams. “She’s done it my whole life. It’s just kind of always been around me. Nobody else does it. I just kinda like to do new things.”
“You gotta keep your hands fresh,” Williams added. “This is where all the gold comes from.”
Williams’ decision to paint his nails has been criticized in recent years. The first time it hit major levels, however, was when he painted “F— Utah” as USC was set to face Utah for the Pac-12 Championship in 2022.
The Trojans ended up losing that game 47-24, and Williams has kept it to a minimum since while still doing it.
Against the Tennessee Titans in his NFL debut, Williams painted “#18 DA BEARS” on his nails. The Bears won that game.
New nails for new QB1
"#18 DA BEARS" pic.twitter.com/zdBohsPCoN
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
Williams’ mother told PEOPLE about the tradition as well.
“I thought it was a really awesome thing that we were able to do together,” Dayna Williams said. “I really like all the things that he is able to do at this particular point in his life, not just the football piece of it, but just being able to do so much more.”
Williams also elaborated on his tradition with PEOPLE.
“I think the nails thing kind of took everybody by surprise,” he said. “I’ve been doing it before college, but it took everybody by surprise, just because you don’t always see male athletes who play football paint their nails. But I think it’s just another way of expression.”