GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Florida recruit and current Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada is suing Gators coach Billy Napier and this system's top booster over a failed name, image and likeness deal price nearly $14 million -Dollar.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pensacola, accuses Napier and booster and automotive technology businessman Hugh Hathcock of fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and false inference of a business relationship or contract in addition to aiding and abetting tortious acts and vicarious liability. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and at the least $10 million in damages.
“Unfortunately, this type of fraud is becoming increasingly commonplace in the Wild West of today’s college NIL landscape,” said attorney Rusty Hardin, who represents Rashada. “Wealthy graduates, co-opted by their schools’ athletic programs, exploit young people by offering them life-changing sums of money, only to renege on their commitments.”
“As the first scholar and athlete to speak out against this egregious behavior, Jaden seeks to hold these defendants accountable for their actions and expose their previously unchecked abuse of power.”
Florida has been under investigation by the NCAA over Rashada's recruitment since last June. The NCAA asked the college to not conduct its own investigation and said it might notify the institution “soon of the planned timeline of the investigation.”
But in March, the NCAA stopped investigating booster-backed collectives or other third parties that had entered into zero-compensation contracts with Division I athletes.
The Gators could have thought they were off the hook. But Rashada's lawsuit at the least puts her back within the highlight.
Rashada, who threw for five,275 yards and 59 touchdowns at Pittsburg High School, initially agreed to play for Miami in the autumn of 2022. According to the lawsuit, the Hurricanes promised Rashada a $9.5 million NIL deal.
Napier and Hathcock lured Rashada away from his Miami commitment with a $13.85 million NIL deal, which violated NCAA bylaws, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says Napier vouched for the collective and said Rashada would receive $1 million on the day the contract was signed.
“But before Rashada could arrive on the Florida campus, the … contract was terminated – suddenly and without warning,” the lawsuit says.
Rashada was granted his release a month later after his NIL deal fell through. He later signed with father's alma mater, Arizona State. He spent one season in Tempe before landing at Florida's biggest rival, Georgia.
Rashada left Florida after the Gator Collective, an independent fundraising group loosely affiliated with the university that paid student-athletes to be used of their NIL, reneged on a multi-year contract signed by each side.
The blow got here just over two months after Rashada moved his verbal commitment from Miami to Florida. Rashada, his representatives and the Gator collective had presumably agreed on the terms of the lucrative deal on the time of his move.
The Gator Collective has since disbanded.
Other defendants include Marcus Castro-Walker, the college's former director of player engagement and NIL, and Velocity Automotive Solutions LLC, which was owned by Hathcock and was expected to offer a lot of the financing for Rashada's deal.
The criticism accommodates text messages that allegedly document fraudulent guarantees and inducements, including several during which Rashada's agent is told, “We look forward to providing him (Rashada) with lifelong care.”
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