Former University of Florida quarterback signing Jayden Rashada is suing Gators coach Billy Napier. The lawsuit alleges that Rashada, a former university staffer and key booster, made “false and fraudulent promises” to induce Rashada to sign with the program in 2022.
Rashada originally decided to go to Miami in June 2022, before his senior year of high school, but he agreed to a staggering four-year, $13.85 million deal with Gator Collective, the now-defunct organization that brokered his name. He signed a contract and transferred to Florida five months later. image and likeness (NIL) deals with Florida athletes.
But a few weeks later, the team released him before paying his expected $500,000 signing on bonus, Rashada claims, and in doing so lost him a $9.5 million contract with the Miami booster.
The complaint alleges that the co-defendants continued to make financial promises in December to induce Rashada to sign, and that Rashada did so shortly thereafter. University on National Signing Day. ”
Unusual NIL bidding war between Rashada boosters Florida and Miami, details The Athletic This comes amid the emergence of school-specific NIL collectives, independent organizations that provide financial NIL opportunities to college athletes by raising money primarily from donors, fans, and boosters, as announced in an article last year It was done. Less than two years later, the Collective is ubiquitous and plays a key role in college football recruiting.
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The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, alleges six counts of fraud, negligence and tortious interference against Napier. Former football staff member Marcus Castro Walker served as director of NIL’s football program. Florida megabooster Hugh Hathcock. and Hathcock’s automotive business. Florida State fired Castro-Walker on February 1st. The Athletic He reported that he was one of the subjects of an NCAA investigation into Rashada’s hiring, which has since been suspended.
“We do not comment on ongoing litigation, and the complaint does not name the University Athletic Association or the university. UAA has established a personal advisor to Coach Napier, and we will answer all questions. We will do so directly with that representative,” Florida Athletics spokesman Steve McClain said in a statement.
The lawsuit seeks damages “exceeding $10 million in the aggregate or value.”
“Unfortunately, this type of fraud is becoming more common in the West, where college NIL is played today,” said Rusty Hardin, an attorney representing Rashada. “Wealthy alumni who are infatuated with their school’s athletic programs take advantage of young people by offering them large amounts of life-changing money, only to renege on their promises. As the first scholar-athlete to stand up against this egregious practice, Jaden is committed to holding defendants accountable for their actions and exposing the abuse of power that continues unchecked.”
Released from his letter of intent at Florida in January 2023, Rashada ultimately signed with Arizona State University and started the Sun Devils’ 2023 season opener as a freshman. He recently announced his decision to transfer to Georgia, Florida’s rival. Napier declined to elaborate at the time when asked about Rashada’s departure, but spoke broadly about NIL to The Associated Press, saying, “The reality is that third parties are involved, agencies are involved, marketing… I think it’s a very unique dynamic because the people in charge are involved and the relationships with lawyers and organizations are very fluid.”
Hardin, who has represented high-profile athletes such as Roger Clemens, Adrian Peterson and Deshaun Watson, was retained by the family in January 2023, but he has no interest in Florida State and Miami’s hiring of Rashada. He said he was holding off on filing a lawsuit in hopes of having an impact on the NCAA investigation. resolved.
“Jaden was indecisive (about the lawsuit) for a while,” Hardin said. “He personally likes Napier. But he realized there weren’t any players with the same experience who probably weren’t at this kind of level and weren’t offered this amount of money.”
According to the complaint, Mr. Hathcock, a wealthy Florida benefactor, began pursuing Mr. Rashada around the same time that Mr. Rashada committed to Miami, offering him $11 million to draft the Gators over the Hurricanes. He claims that he orally offered him a NIL contract. Some media outlets reported that Rashada has a $9.5 million contract with the Miami boosters. By October, Hathcock had sweetened Rashada’s contract by nearly $3 million in an effort to turn him around, according to the complaint. The complaint cites an Oct. 27 text from Castro-Walker to one of the player’s NIL agents, Jackson Zager, which states: Please bring in a QB. 👀🤣”
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Hathcock planned to finance a portion of the final $13.85 million offer through his own business, Velocity Automotive, which is named as a co-defendant, but the contract offer itself was not made by Gator. -Claims that it was provided by the collective.
The complaint cites the following exchange between Gator Collective CEO Eddie Rojas and Zager: You need to open a brokerage account as soon as possible. You’re rich and we’re just getting started. ” Plus, “You’re going to have to avoid the weirdos in Miami.”[.] I hate Miami. This would be fun to watch. ”
Rashada publicly announced her move from Miami to Florida on November 10, 2022.
NCAA rules prohibit schools from using NIL funds as recruiting inducements, and at the time of these events, boosters and NIL collectives were prohibited from discussing financial terms with recruits. . However, a judge’s preliminary injunction in March barred the NCAA from enforcing those rules. The NCAA subsequently suspended investigations like the one against Florida State.
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Over the next few weeks, various people associated with Hathcock, including Castro-Walker, assured Rashada’s representatives that Hathcock would pay them $500,000, according to the complaint. Instead, the group terminated the agreement on Dec. 6. The next day, Mr. Castro-Walker told his agent that Mr. Hathcock would still be paid $13.85 million, but it would be paid by a group he announced called the Gator Guard.
As the Dec. 21 early signing period approached, Jayden asked his father, Harlen, and his agent, “Can I sign?” according to the complaint. To that, Zager replied, “Not yet.” Castro-Walker “called Haren and assured him that Jayden would receive $500,000 and all future promised payments.”
Napier’s planned National Signing Day press conference was postponed, but Rashada persisted. It was around that time that Napier allegedly contacted Haren, who reportedly told Rashada’s agent: [Hathcock’s] It seems that he will get on a plane and transfer $1 million. I would like some documents, so if you don’t mind I will send them to you. ”
Jaden signed the document less than an hour after that conversation, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, the only money Rashada received from the Florida campaign was a $150,000 wire transfer from Hathcock, the purpose of which was to “get repayments from a $9.5 million NIL contract after Jaden reversed his promise.” “This was so that he could avoid a lawsuit he had sought with Miami booster John Lewis.” From Miami to college. ”
The AthleticAccording to a February 2023 article, Rashada has already received “approximately $125,000” from Lewis’ company, Life Wallet.Lewis said The Athletic At the time, “there was no agreement between Rashada and Life Wallet for $9.5 million, or even anything close to it.”
“That’s not true,” Hardin said. “He may say there’s no written contract, but so is an oral contract.” (Oral contracts are enforceable in the state of Florida.)
Lewis released the following statement: The Athletic Tuesday morning: “Neither LifeWallet nor John H. Lewis ever did any business with Rashada amounting to $9.5 million. LifeWallet did a very small business with Rashada while she was in (high school) in California. Rashada and his father are stand-up individuals. To date, I have a very good relationship with both of them personally. They both know that we dealt with them honestly and fairly, as we have always done with all NIL players. LifeWallet has a track record of following through on all of its NIL transactions. LifeWallet was repaid by the people who manage the Gators’ fundraising efforts. I have my own views on this issue, but at this time the focus should be on the best interests of this young person.”
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Rashada, who has signed or committed to three schools so far – Miami, Florida and Arizona State – is expected to report to Georgia for summer workouts next month.
“Jaden’s decision to attend Georgia State this year, like his decision to attend Arizona State University, was not in response to any promises, guarantees, or offers related to NIL funds,” the complaint states. . “He learned his lesson.”
Castro-Walker did not immediately respond to calls and text messages seeking comment.when The Athletic When Velocity Automotive contacted Hathcock for comment, an employee said Hathcock had sold the company.
Read the full lawsuit here.
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read athletic The Jaden Rashada recruitment research report can be found here.
(Billy Napier Photo: James Gilbert/Getty Images)
