Why is Jaden Rashada suing Billy Napier? A look back at Rashada’s recruiting in Florida

There will always be hatred between Florida football and Georgia when the two teams meet near Halloween.

But there’s even more beer in between Gators coach Billy Napier and the Bulldogs’ redshirt freshman linebacker Jaden Rashada. Rashada is suing Napier over a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal promised to the signal caller when he was a high school recruit in the 2023 recruiting class.

While Rashada is down in the Bulldogs’ order and is unlikely to play on Saturday, his presence in the trial will still be felt with Napier on the opposing sidelines.

Here’s what you need to know about Rashada’s lawsuit against Napier and others:

MUST READ: What Georgia football OC Mike Bobo had to say about Jaden Rashada and other backup QBs

Jaden Rashada High School Recruiting Revisited

Rashada attended Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, California. He was a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top QBs in the 2023 recruiting class, holding a total of 32 offers. Rashada originally committed to Miami on June 26, 2022, over Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Immediately, accusations of a potentially rich NIL package from Miami started hitting the rumor mills.

But that was just the first of many twists and turns in Rashada’s recruitment. On November 11, 2022, Rashada posted a cryptic tweet and flipped his commitment to the Gators. The commitment came ahead of the right-handed defender’s official visit to Gainesville.

The following month, on December 21, 2022, the first day of the early signing period, Florida received all of its draftees’ NLIs, but one was missing: Rashada’s. After delaying his press conference to introduce the class, Napier finally received Rashada’s NLI and was announced as a Gator signee.

But things would only escalate from here. Rumors of a NIL package breakdown between Florida and Rashada have continued on the internet. Then, when it came time to move to campus, Rashada was not present in Gainesville and continued to be in California.

The four-star quarterback asked to be released from NLI with the Gators after failing to report and enrolling in classes early by the school’s Jan. 13 drop/add deadline for the spring semester. Rashada got his wish and eventually decommitted from Florida on January 20, 2023. A week later, he officially visited TCU, signed with Arizona State, and signed with the program the next day.

Rashada’s father, Harlen, played collegiately for Devils of the Sun from 1992-94.

Why is Jaden Rashada suing Billy Napier?

Rashada is suing Napier, booster Hugh Hathcock and former football member Marcus Castro-Walker for making “false and fraudulent promises” to get Rashada to sign with the Gators in 2022.

According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Gainesville Sun, Rashada claims he changed his commitment to Florida after signing a four-year, $13.85 million contract with the Gator Collective, the defunct NIL collective for Gators athletics. However, the collective terminated the deal the day after he was due to be paid his $500,000 signing bonus on December 5, 2023.

Rusty Hardin — who has represented big-name athletes like Deshaun Watson, Roger Clemens and Adrian Peterson — filed the lawsuit on Rashada’s behalf. The lawyer said The Athletic that Rashada hoped the investigation in Florida and Miami would solve the problem. However, a preliminary injunction by a federal judge temporarily barred NCAA from rule enforcement and investigation.

“Jaden was hesitant (about suing) for a while,” Hardin said. “He likes Napier personally. But he became aware of more and more players – maybe not at this level, with so much money on offer – who had the same experience.”

With that deal terminated, Rashada claimed he lost a $9.5 million contract held with a collective in Miami and the ability to pursue NIL agreements with other collectives.

The lawsuit includes the allegation that Napier guaranteed Rashada $1 million if he agreed to sign on National Signing Day, Dec. 21, 2023, and the coach “would go all out.” Napier is also said to have threatened to walk away from Rashada completely if he doesn’t sign.

Rashada’s lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. It seeks damages “exceeding (in) the amount or value of $10 million,” which includes six counts of fraud, negligence and tortious interference against Napier.

At the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Napier said he was comfortable with his actions regarding Rashada’s pursuit.

“I can’t comment because of the litigation,” Napier said. “But I have confidence in my legal team. I’m comfortable with my actions and grateful for the university’s support. We’ll leave it at that and let the process take its course.”

According to the suit, Rashada signed with both Arizona State as a high school recruit and then as a transfer with Georgia with “no promises, assurances or offers of NIL money. He had learned his lesson.”

Florida and Miami were the two primary schools with boosters who discussed their football programs and discussed lucrative NIL contracts with Rashada during his recruitment. Florida originally offered Rashada about $11 million, but he had already committed to Miami for his reported $9.5 million deal by then.

Hathcock has been involved in Rashada’s recruitment from the beginning, even reaching out to Rashada during his visit in June 2022. During that trip, Hathcock told Rashada, “Whatever Rashada needs to come to UF, Hathcock will do to happen”. Hathcock also allegedly promised Harlen Rashada, Rashada’s father, a job for his father.

Despite his commitment to Miami, his supposed boosters in Florida continued to recruit Rashada and eventually offered him a NIL package north of $4 million more than Miami’s, which led to his commitment to the Gators. The lawsuit alleges that Hancock, Castro-Walker and Napier worked together to get Rashada to flip.

Kirby Smart on Jaden Rashada in the Billy Napier lawsuit

Rashada entered Arizona State’s transfer portal on April 18 and transferred to Georgia a week later. Less than a month later, Rashada announced his lawsuit against Napier and others. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he was unaware of the lawsuit until the day before it is filed.

“Say what you want, he told me the day before they decided to do the trial,” Smart said. “I told him that would be between his family and his lawyer. I am not involved in this. Georgia is not involved in this anyway.”

Smart added that the trial did not affect his relationship with Napier and that they “talk all the time”. Both coached under Nick Saban at Alabama.

Jaden Rashada Stats

Here’s a look at Rashada’s stats over two years in college football. He has yet to appear in a game in 2024.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Revisiting Jaden Rashada’s recruiting in Florida, lawsuit against Billy Napier