Anthony Wilson
Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada has sued Florida coach Billy Napier, Gators star defensive back Hugh Hathcock and former football player Marcus Castro-Walker over a failed name, image and likeness deal that would have paid the quarterback $13.85 million, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. on Tuesday.
The bombshell lawsuit, which features the unprecedented action of an active SEC quarterback suing a rival coach, is the most notable NIL-related lawsuit to date. In many ways, Rashada became the given the chaotic nature of the early NIL which was full of big promises with little oversight shortly after its Florida deal fell apart.
The complaint, filed in the Pensacola Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, details a series of allegations alleging that Napier, Hathcock and others fraudulently induced Rashada, then a highly regarded high school quarterback prospect, to appear in Florida with no intention of fulfilling his financial promises. Specifically, the suit 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.
“Hathcock (on behalf of himself and Velocity Automotive), Castro-Walker, and Coach Napier orchestrated and executed a fraud against Jaden and were substantially and knowingly assisted by each other in carrying out the fraud,” the lawsuit says. “Each of their individual schemes would not have succeeded without mutual aid.”
Efforts to reach Florida for comment were not immediately returned.
Rashada recruited well-known Houston-area attorney Rusty Hardin, who has represented a group of notable athletes including Roger Clemens and Adrian Peterson, to try the case. Hardin has been involved in potential litigation against Napier and others since January 2023, when Rashada’s agents, Jackson Zager and Tommy Thomsen, first reached out to ask about legal options after Florida’s supporters allegedly reneged on Rashada’s multimillion-dollar settlement. NIL.
At the heart of the discussion are the actions of Napier, Hathcock and their company Velocity Automotive, as well as Castro-Walker convincing Rashada to avoid a previously agreed upon $9.5 million NIL deal to attend Miami in favor of Florida. Rashada originally committed to play football at Miami in June 2022 under the terms of that agreement, but the lawsuit alleges that Florida officials and supporters never gave up on pursuing the talented Pittsburg, California, product. It includes allegations that Hathcock told Rashada, “whatever Jaden needed to come to UF, Hathcock would make happen.” It also alleges that his father, Harlen, was told he could get a job in the security industry during a recruiting visit. Direct contact with a recruit during a booster’s visit to campus is against NCAA rules.
To influence Rashada’s decision, Hathcock and Castro-Walker offered the $13.85 million deal with $5.35 million, including a $500,000 signing bonus, through Hathcock’s company Velocity Automotive and the remainder through Gator Guard, the NIL collective he founded. Hathcock had already committed to donating $12.6 million to the Gator Boosters, and early media reports stated that the Gator Guard raised $5 million in the first 24 hours.
Before the deal was finalized, however, Hathcock informed Rashada’s representatives that he no longer wanted to route NIL payments through his company because he planned to sell it, according to the lawsuit. Instead, he and Castro-Walker proposed money coming directly from Hathcock and the rest coming from the Gator Collective, Florida’s other NIL collective. This involved Gator Collective CEO Eddie Rojas, who reportedly texted Zager about the impending deal: “Tell Jaden we look forward to setting him up for life. ” The agreement was officially signed on November 10, 2022, with the first payment of US$500,000 due to Rashada on December 5.
The suit alleges, however, that Hathcock never had any intention of making that payment and everyone involved, including Napier, knew it.
“The collective never had any money and yet they made all these promises to the kid,” Hardin told CBS Sports. “You dangle money to change lives and generations in front of a 19-year-old boy, who grew up without it, you can’t expect that young man not to be affected by this. .”
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Instead, the day after the $500,000 payment was due, Gator Collective sent Rashada a letter terminating the $13.85 million deal. Still, the suit claims that Napier and Castro-Walker went to great lengths to convince Rashada that they would deliver on the promised money even without the contract. Castro-Walker told Rashada’s agents that Gator Guard would now assume payment of the settlement and that “Hathcock, through Gator Guard, would personally guarantee the $13.85 million obligation.” The only payment allegedly made was $150,000 to reimburse John Ruiz, a prominent Miami booster, so that Rashada “could avoid potential litigation” with Ruiz, who was seeking reimbursement of the initial $9.5 million NIL settlement.
It all came to a head on December 21, the first day of the early signing period, where Napier allegedly personally vouched to Rashada that the Florida alumni “made good on their promise that Jaden would receive $1 million if he signed with UF in the National Signing”. Day” and that Hathcock would make the payment. Harlen Rashada later texted Zager,” said coach Napier [Hathcock’s] on a plane and that he will transfer 1 thousand. He wants the paperwork and I will send it if you agree.” It states that Castro-Walker threatened Rashada that if he did not sign, Napier might withdraw his scholarship offer.
Hardin told CBS Sports that Napier should never have made those promises, which, at the time, were also against NCAA rules. “That’s not a role he should have been involved in, he shouldn’t have made those promises and he should have stayed out of that whole area,” Hardin said. “He didn’t do it.”
Less than a month after signing day, Rashada asked to release his letter of intent with Florida. He ultimately decided on Arizona State, his father’s alma mater, where he was promised no NIL compensation. He started three games for Arizona State in his first season in 2023 and won his debut as a true freshman. Rashada transferred to Georgia this spring.
Rashada informed Georgia coach Kirby Smart of his intention to file the lawsuit, according to sources, and Smart gave his blessing.
Castro-Walker no longer works for Florida, although the school did not detail the cause for that. The NCAA was actively investigating the case, which included interviews with relevant parties and Florida’s cooperation with the investigation, according to sources. Following the ruling in Tennessee and Virginia’s landmark lawsuit against the NCAA, which prohibited the NCAA from enforcing NIL-related compensation rules, the organization’s enforcement arm backed away.
The lawsuit alleges that Rashada suffered the loss of his $9.5 million NIL settlement with Miami and other crowd-funded NIL compensation. It also seeks punitive damages.
In total, the lawsuit argues that Rashada is a victim of a new world where boosters have never had so much influence.
“Jaden’s miserable experience reveals, in stark and dramatic detail, what can happen to young student-athletes when wealthy, earn-at-any-cost alumni fall into college football recruitment process,” the suit says.
