What Jaden Rashada lawsuit means for Billy Napier and Florida Gators football
Georgia's backup quarterback is suing a rival SEC coach. Welcome to college football in 2024.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Jaden Rashada is suing a top Florida booster, a former football staffer and Gators coach Billy Napier after Rashada's NIL deal with Florida unraveled while the quarterback was a blue-chip prospect.
Rashada's attorney says the defendants defrauded the quarterback. Rashada seeks more than $10 million in damages. He's requested a jury trail.
On this edition of "SEC Football Unfiltered," host Blake Toppmeyer of the USA TODAY Network is joined by the Gainesville Sun's Kevin Brockway to discuss the lawsuit and what it means for Florida and Napier, its embattled coach.
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This lawsuit might never see the inside of a courtroom. Regardless, it's the latest gut punch for a coach who went 11-14 the past two seasons.
Let's unpack this:
What does this lawsuit mean for Florida and Billy Napier?
Brockway: For both Florida and Napier, it’s not as bad as it could have been, in light of an NCAA investigation into Rashada being put on hold due to the court judgment in the Nico Iamaleava NCAA NIL case. It’s not the greatest look for a Florida athletic program that prides itself on integrity and doing things the right way. For Napier and the Florida football program, it could impact recruiting, although UF’s NIL situation is more in order since the Rashada recruitment.
Toppmeyer: Napier will flirt with the hot seat if things don't turn around in Year 3, and a lawsuit is the last thing he needs. Elite prospects tend to want to sign with schools that have reputable and bountiful NIL collectives. An athlete alleging that Florida's coach and a top booster defrauded him isn't the marketing you want when trying to jumpstart a 2025 recruiting class that houses five commitments. Florida's class ranks 44th nationally in the 247Sports Composite. Worse than this lawsuit, though, would be this case seeing the inside of a courtroom. Napier would do well to settle this in tidy fashion and trumpet that this was more the work of sloppy booster involvement than any wrongdoing on his part and that Florida's NIL efforts are now in order.
Does this lawsuit affect Billy Napier's job security?
Brockway: It doesn’t help. Ultimately, Napier will be judged by what he does on the field in 2024. The schedule is tremendously difficult, and Napier may need to win six or seven games to survive and get a fourth season.
Toppmeyer: In the short-term, it probably doesn't affect Napier's status. He needs to win games. And if he doesn't start winning? We've seen schools exploit loopholes in a coach's contract to fire a coach without paying the buyout or use a negative situation to negotiate a reduced buyout. Surely that's not how Florida wants this to end, but UF notably distanced itself from the lawsuit in a statement Tuesday. How many more losses and off-field drama is UF willing to endure before it wants to distance itself from Napier and search for an escape hatch?
How do we expect this lawsuit to end – with a judgement, settlement or dismissal?
Brockway: Settlement. Napier and Florida will not want any more dirty laundry to be aired as a result of the case. Rashada and his camp will come to an understanding that $10 million is a steep asking price and that contracts weren’t breached, just verbal commitments.
Toppmeyer: Settlement. Solving this as quickly and quietly as possible is the best path forward for Napier and the Gators. Put this in the past, win games and push the narrative that Florida corrected its NIL false-start.
On the field, how do we view Florida this season?
Brockway: Florida could be better, but the record may not reflect as much progress, given the difficulty of UF’s schedule. Napier will still call the plays, and there is hope that he and returning starting quarterback Graham Mertz will build off the second half of last season, when Florida scored 30 points or more in five of Mertz’s final six starts. Five-star dual-threat freshman quarterback DJ Lagway also could be summoned on short yardage or goal line to keep opposing defenses honest.
Toppmeyer: I think the team is a bit better. Napier acquired some useful transfers, and Lagway is an exciting talent. Considering the schedule, though, I don't expect much, if any, improvement on last season's 5-7 record. Without qualifying for a bowl game, Napier would face difficulty selling the narrative that the program is on the way up.
Later in the episode
– David Eckert of the Mississippi Clarion Ledger joins Toppmeyer to preview a season of big expectations for Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. The Rebels are viewed as a preseason playoff hopeful. That's fair. How about a national championship contender? For that to be true, the Kiffin will need his transfer additions on the offensive and defensive lines to result in significant line-of-scrimmage improvements.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Kevin Brockway covers the Florida Gators for the Gainesville Sun. David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: What Jaden Rashada lawsuit means for Billy Napier and Florida Gators
