Jaden Rashada sues Florida QB coach Billy Napier and top donor over $13M NIL dispute

Former Florida recruit and current Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada is suing Gators coach Billy Napier and the program’s top booster over a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Pensacola accuses Napier and businessman Hugh Hathcock of booster and vehicle technology with fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentation, wrongful inference in relation to a business relationship or contract, aiding and abetting tortious interference and vicarious liability. The complaint seeks a jury trial and damages of at least $10 million.

“Unfortunately, this type of fraud is becoming increasingly common in the Wild West that is the current college NIL landscape,” said attorney Rusty Hardin, who represents Rashada. “Wealthy alumni, consumed by their schools’ athletic programs, take advantage of young people by offering them life-changing sums of money, only to default on their obligations.

“As the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against this egregious behavior, Jaden seeks to hold these defendants accountable for their actions and expose their heretofore unchecked abuse of power.”

Florida had been under an NCAA investigation into Rashada’s recruitment since last June. The NCAA asked the school not to conduct its own investigation and said it would “soon notify the institution of the expected timeline of the investigation.”

Florida coach Bill Napier lured Rashada from his Miami commitment with NIL deal in 2022

Florida automotive technology businessman Hugh Hathcock was also named in the lawsuit

But in March, the NCAA dropped its investigation into booster-backed collectives or other third parties that had entered into NIL compensation agreements with Division I athletes.

The Gators may have thought they were off the hook. But Rashada’s lawsuit at least puts them back in the spotlight.

Rashada, who threw for 5,275 yards and 59 touchdowns at Pittsburg (California) High School, initially agreed to play for Miami in the fall of 2022. According to the lawsuit, the Hurricanes promised Rashada a $9.5 million NIL deal.

Napier and Hathcock lured Rashada from his Miami commitment with a $13.85 million NIL deal that violated NCAA bylaws, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit states that Napier vouched for the collective and that Rashada would receive $1 million on signing day.

“But before Rashada could arrive on the Florida campus, the contract was terminated – suddenly and without warning,” the complaint said.

Rashada was released 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 is moving to Georgia, where he is not expected to start, after a year at Arizona St.

Rashada was forced to bail out Florida after the Gator Collective — an independent fundraising group loosely affiliated with the university that paid student-athletes for the use of their NIL — failed to fulfill a multi-year agreement signed by both parties.

The bombshell came just over two months after Rashada transferred his verbal commitment from Miami to Florida. Rashada, his representatives and the Gator Collective were believed to have agreed to the terms of the lucrative deal at the time of his transfer.

The Gator Collective has now disbanded.

Other defendants include Marcus Castro-Walker, the school’s former director of player engagement and NIL, and Velocity Automotive Solutions LLC, which was owned by Hathcock and would provide most of the financing for Rashada’s deal.

The complaint includes text messages that allegedly document fraudulent promises and inducements, including several that tell Rashada’s agent, “we look forward to locking him (Rashada) away for life.”