This is wild.
Jaden Rashada — a former football recruit for Florida — has filed a lawsuit against head coach Billy Napier, a high-profile Gators booster and others are involved as well. The quarterback alleges that the program defrauded him after they backed out of a $13.85 million package that was originally agreed upon, and claims that they did so after he turned down multiple offers from other schools, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN. (RELATED: Mysonne Pollard’s Hilarious ‘Jacksonville’ Mistake Will Surely Make For One Hell Of An Introduction At New School)
The lawsuit was put in motion Tuesday. Another allegation involved is not even an hour after his father was promised a $1 million “partial payment,” Rashada signed his national letter of intent to become a Gator — he inked it on Dec. 21, 2022. Florida allegedly never paid Rashada the $1 million, and the boosters didn’t fulfill their part of the deal either, according to the lawsuit per ESPN.
TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 31: Jaden Rashada #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils waits for the ball to be snapped during the second quarter against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Sun Devil Stadium on August 31, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)
TEMPE, ARIZONA – AUGUST 31: Jaden Rashada #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throughs a pass to Jalin Conyers #12 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second quarter against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Sun Devil Stadium on August 31, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)
“Sadly, unethical and illegal tactics like this are more and more commonplace in the Wild West that is today’s college football landscape,” read the lawsuit, per the outlet. “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.”
Reminder of some of the terms that were allegedly agreed to in Jaden Rashada’s $13+ million NIL deal with UF that fell through pic.twitter.com/wVMhRCcIu6
— Andrew Ferrelli (@Andrew_Ferrelli) May 21, 2024
Billy when it was time to pay Jaden Rashada pic.twitter.com/vaVoFvuBPf
— Saint Zoe 🇺🇸🇭🇹 (@Jupinapapi3) May 21, 2024
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – NOVEMBER 4: Jaden Rashada #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws a pass during warmups before their game against the Utah Utes at Rice Eccles Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Just an average day in the Wild, Wild West that they call the NIL era. Wow.
