If you thought NIL and the transfer portal were already crazy enough for college football, buckle up. Things may be getting even crazier starting Florida Football.
In November 2022, Florida Football released quarterback recruit Jaden Rashada from his national letter of intent after agreeing to an unprecedented four-year, $13.85 million contract. This contract was a key reason that Rashada flipped his commitment from Miami to the Gators.
After being dropped from his his NLI, he was left without a school and out millions of dollars. He is now seeking to sue the University of Florida and Billy Napier for the deal that he views as a breach of contract.
How Did the Lawsuit Happen Against Florida Football?
If you want a detailed case outline, check out the coverage On3 wrote up. However, if you want a short summary, it is below.
Jaden Rashada ultimately ended up playing last year at Arizona State, struggled and transferred this year to Georgia. He has filed a 37-page complaint to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida, where he claims he was lied to and promised guarantees from the University that ultimately led to him flipping his commitment from Miami to Florida.
The lawsuit names NIL director Marcus Castro-Walker, Florida football booster Hugh Hackcock, and head coach Billy Napier as defendants. It lays out fraud misrepresentation, inducement, aiding, fraud, civil conspiracy, and negligent misrepresentations, among other counts.
The case is centered primarily around Jaden Rashada never receiving a $500,000 signing bonus from Hugh Hackcock. However, the signing day came, and the money never arrived, leaving Rashada in a position where he declined to sign. Billy Napier apparently also got involved, promising that the UF alumni would pay $1 million on signing day, but if Rashada still stalled, the team would turn its back on the quarterback. Rashada signed, but the money never came, leading to the lawsuit.
What Does This Mean for College Football and the NIL Going Forward?
First, this is the first widely public case of evidence of a coach getting directly involved with NIL. Everyone knows that coaches are doing this, but for the most part, it is swept under the rug, and the collectives get all the credit for NIL. If Rashada’s statements are true, it could get Napier in a lot of trouble not just from the lawsuit standpoint but also from the standpoint of directly recruiting a player with NIL being the leverage.
However, even more consequential is the very likely floodgates that are about to open with other players suing schools, NIL collectives, and boosters regarding NIL. An underrated part of this case is the emotional or life-changing stress that players can claim in the lawsuit. This lawsuit isn’t about a $500,000 or even $1 million promise broken; Rashada (and others in the future) can claim that these life promises led to life-changing decisions that could have been worth millions of dollars of lost money and opportunity.
Rashada could look at Caleb Williams or another high-level QB and say, “I could have been in the NFL one year earlier, which would set me on a path to make $X million dollars more in my lifetime.”
There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of athletes in the world of NIL who have been taken advantage of. This could be the start of big changes in NIL, where there is much more oversight at the national level.
Buckle up; things are about to get crazy.
Sixteen months ago, Florida released Jaden Rashada from his NLI following an NIL-fueled breakup.
That separation is now at the center of a lawsuit. Rashada is suing Billy Napier, former UF director of NIL Marcus Castro-Walker & Hugh Hathcock.
More: https://t.co/3L8JS7CZu6 pic.twitter.com/FqLyXXvNIN
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) May 21, 2024
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