The ramifications of this lawsuit could send shockwaves through the sport
On May 21, former University of Florida signee and current Georgia QB Jaden Rashada filed a lawsuit against the Gators and head coach Billy Napier over an NIL deal that he failed to receive the payout on.
Georgia QB Jaden Rashada is suing Florida coach Billy Napier & UF booster Hugh Hathcock in federal court for fraud & other allegations over failed $13.85 million NIL deal @jtalty reports. According to lawsuit, Napier said booster would wire $1 million if Rashada signed with UF on…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 21, 2024
The potential fallout from this deal could be catastrophic from either side of the suit, so let’s examine how we got to this point and what any of this means.
Jaden Rashada was a top 300 QB coming out of high school in 2023, who signed with the Florida Gators early in the process due to an NIL deal that was supposed to pay him $13.85 million dollars, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The booster who was supposed to help give him this deal is Hugh Hathcock, owner of Velocity Automotive and a well-known booster in the UF community. In April of 2022, Hathcock gave a $12.6 million pledge to the Gator boosters, specifically to go towards renovation of the basketball practice facility. According to CBS reporter John Talty, Rashada names Hathcock along with Napier and former staffer Marcus Castro-Walker in this lawsuit, alleging fraud amongst other things.
Rashada ended up getting released from his National Letter of Intent in early January, and Thamel reported that a collective affiliated with the Gators released Rashada from that $13.85 million deal that was supposed to be paid out over the duration of his college career. In the lawsuit, Rashada is alleging that Napier and the Gator boosters induced him into committing to UF, without any plans of paying him any of the money that he was promised. According to Talty, this lawsuit specifically alleges, “fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference with a business relationship or contract and aiding and abetting tortious interference.”
How does head coach Billy Napier get involved with all of this? Well, according to the lawsuit, Napier promised Rashada $1 million if he signed with the Gators on National Signing Day. At the time, that was against NCAA rules, but the biggest thing is that the money never came. Thus, Rashada asked to be released from his NLI and move on from the Gators.
At this current moment, Rashada has employed well-known lawyer of athletes Rusty Hardin to represent him. Rashada also is now a member of the Georgia Bulldogs, after entering the transfer portal one year after playing at Arizona State.
This has the potential to be a massive lawsuit that changes the outlook of NIL in the world of college sports, both for player and collective. This is the first we’ve seen a player sue a university or a head coach for a failed NIL deal, and if it comes out that Napier promised Rashada $1 million before that was legal, it could be huge. The lawsuit will be tried in federal court, and the ramifications from it could change NIL in college football for a long time.
