Former Florida commit Jaden Rashada suing Billy Napier, booster over NIL deal | Report

Former Florida football commit Jaden Rashada is reportedly suing coach Billy Napier, Marcus Castro-Walker (former Florida director of NIL and player engagement) and booster Hugh Hathcock over the program's botched NIL deal to sign the Pittsburg, California, native.

The suit — filed in the Northern District of Florida — lists Napier, Castro-Walker, Hathcock and Hathcock's company, Velocity Automotive, as defendants. The current Georgia quarterback alleges they defrauded him by backing out of a promised $13.85 million NIL deal that was used to entice him to play for the Gators.

Rashada did sign a National Letter of Intent with Florida in December 2022, but ultimately backed out of it in January 2023 to instead sign with Arizona State, where his father played. Prior to his signing with the Gators, he also backed out of a verbal commitment to fellow in-state program Miami, which also reportedly offered Rashada a notable NIL package of $9.5 million — money, ESPN reports, the QB is claiming as part of the damages in his suit.

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Per the lawsuit:

"Sadly, unethical and illegal tactics like this are more and more commonplace in the Wild West that is today's college football landscape. As the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against such egregious behavior by adults who should know better, Jaden seeks to hold Defendants accountable for their actions and to expose the unchecked abuse of power that they shamelessly wielded."

Here's what you need to know of Rashada's suit:

Jaden Rashada lawsuit, explained

Rashada's suit claims Hathcock, a well-known donor tied to Florida athletics, initially approached him during a June 2022 visit to the university. Later that summer, he placed value on a potential NIL deal later: $11 million. Rashada's filing claims a "pressure campaign" upped the offer to $13.85 million over four years, including $5.35 million straight from Hathcock and a $500,000 signing bonus through Velocity Automotive.

The remainder of the $8 million would then be paid through Hathcock's NIL collective, Gator Guard.

However, as reported by ESPN, Hathcock on Nov. 10, 2022 objected to using his company or the collective to fund NIL payments. He then worked with Castro-Walker to run the money through the Gator Collective — a separate NIL entity with different management — per Rashada's filing.

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Shortly after midnight on Nov. 11, 2022, Rashada announced his flipped commitment to Florida, the same day he signed his initial NIL contract with the program. Per a February 2023 report by The Athletic, the contract noted that, after a $500,000 payment — the "signing bonus" — Rashada would receive $250,000 monthly payments as a freshman, with increasing installments during his sophomore and junior years, provided he fulfilled certain obligations.

Rashada's suit claims that on Dec. 6, 2022, less than a month after he flipped his commitment and 15 days before the start of the early signing period, he received a letter "purporting to terminate" the NIL deal. The suit then claims that Napier and Castro-Walker told Rashada they'd "make good" on the promised money.

Indeed, the suit states Hathcock wired $150,000 to Rashada to avoid potential litigation with Miami booster John Ruiz. However, the suit claims it was the only money he ever received, and that he still had no NIL contract to sign on Dec. 19, 2022 — two days before the start of the early signing period. The filing also claims negotiations in NIL dealings were far less than the promised $13.85 million.

Rashada regardless signed his NLI with Florida, with the suit claiming he did so less than an hour after Napier promised Rashada's father a $1 million "partial payment" on the day he signed. The suit claims he never received any money, adding that boosters attempted to devalue the deal to less than half its original value (according to ESPN sources).

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Per the lawsuit:

"Once Jaden committed to UF, rather than make Jaden 'rich' as promised, these people — with Hathcock leading the charge — changed their tune and went back on their word. The amount of UF-affiliated NIL money available for Jaden decreased drastically."

Rashada did not speak to ESPN for its report, though his attorney, Rusty Hardin did offer a comment:

"It's a classic con game on a 19-year-old," Hardin told ESPN. "We've taken away our commitment in writing to you, but, trust us, not only is the check in the mail, but you can be comfortable you're going to get X. … And it never happened. … And he leaves not for the money, but because he can no longer trust them."

Rashada played one season at Arizona State before transferring to Georgia ahead of the 2024 college football season.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Jaden Rashada suing Florida's Billy Napier, booster over NIL deal