Former University of Florida recruit Jaden Rashada sued head football coach Billy Napier, a millionaire donor and others on Tuesday, claiming that they lured him into abandoning a commitment to rival University of Miami last year with the promise of a $13.85 million payday that never materialized.
Rashada, now a quarterback for the University of Georgia, claims in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Pensacola that UF donor Hugh Hathcock promised him the massive payday, including a $500,000 signing bonus, and that Napier and another UF official pressured him to commit to the university with promises that he would be immediately financially set for life. According to the lawsuit, Hathcock even suggested he could secure Rashada’s father a job if his son committed to UF.
“All of these promises ultimately proved to be lies,” reads Rashada’s civil complaint.
Litigation between an active quarterback and a head coach adds a highly unusual chapter to the rivalry between UF and Georgia. And the lawsuit escalates what was already one of the most prominent scandals in the nascent era of NIL — or “name, image and likeness” — in which college athletes have for the first time been able to earn branding income related to their sports.
The NCAA opened an investigation into Rashada’s commitment to UF earlier this year, after it publicly unraveled. Rashada’s attorney, Texas-based Rusty Hardin, said that the investigation has since been shelved following a recent federal ruling that essentially allowed universities to dangle NIL deals as recruiting enticements, a practice that had previously been forbidden, if an open secret.
In an interview, Hardin said Rashada’s lawsuit was intended as a cautionary tale of what happens when university athletic officials and the boosters that surround them recruit elite athletes with little to no guardrails. “The big goal here is to shine daylight into what’s really going on here for people to decide,” Hardin said, "‘Are we so bothered by what’s going on here that we’re willing to take some action?’”
UF was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Napier, Hathcock and the university did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The NCAA also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When he graduated from high school in Pittsburg, Calif. in 2022, Rashada was the seventh-ranked quarterback entering college in the country. College athletes had only recently been allowed to profit from their likenesses, following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.
That sea change in college sports moved to the forefront figures like Hathcock, who after making his fortune in the automotive industry donated millions to his alma mater UF, where a basketball complex and a tower at a stadium now bear his name. According to Rashada’s lawsuit, he encountered Hathcock on a recruitment visit to UF, where the donor promised him that he “would make happen” whatever Rashada needed to come to UF — including a job for his father, former Arizona State football player Harlen Rashada, in the security industry.
Hathcock ran a “collective” — a booster group facilitating payments for athletes — called Gator Guard. He ultimately promised Rashada $11 million to commit to UF, according to the lawsuit. But by then, Rashada had already verbally committed to play in Miami, where he agreed to a $9.5 million NIL deal, the lawsuit states.
But that didn’t deter a UF official named Marcus Castro-Walker, who was the school’s director of player engagement and NIL — believed to be the first with that job specialty in university athletics. According to the complaint, in Oct. 2022 Castro-Walker texted Rashada’s two young agents, one of whom was a college student himself: “You already know what we need to do over the next few days!! Get us the QB👀🤣.”
“We need to lock down Jaden!” Castro-Walker texted a few days later, adding that they wanted Rashada “to flip this week.” (Castro-Walker did not respond to a request for comment.)
The following month, according to the lawsuit, Hathock finalized the terms of an offer to Rashada, including $5.35 million from his company, Velocity Automotive, and $13.85 million from Gator Guard. Hathcock seemingly alluded to the ongoing negotiations with Rashada when he tweeted, “Tomorrow will be a Great Day Gator Fans!!!”
But then Hathcock “balked,” according to the lawsuit, citing an impending sale of his company in stating that he didn’t want to directly fund the payments to Rashada. Instead, another group, the Gator Collective, got involved. Its CEO, Eddie Rojas, assured Rashada that the deal would still be financed, according to texts cited in the lawsuit.
“Tell Jaden we look forward to setting him up for life,” Rojas texted. “Need to set up his brokerage accounts asap. Dude is rich and we just got started.”
Rojas wrote that by nabbing a star recruit from UF’s downstate rival, “We are going to have to dodge the freaks in Miami[.] I hate Miami. This is going to be fun to watch.”
Rashada claimed that Gator Collective attorney Jennifer Grosso pressured him to publicly commit to UF. “I might go to sleep if I had $500K headed my way in two weeks,” Grosso wrote his agent late on the night of Nov. 10, 2022, according to the lawsuit. “But we need a commitment to get there!!!”
Rashada obliged, posting online a statement announcing his decision to commit to UF, along with a video of himself stepping out of a Lamborghini at UF’s football stadium. But Rashada’s lawyers now claim that his recruiters at UF “had neither the ability nor the intention of honoring their promise to pay him $13.85 million.”
According to the lawsuit, the Gator Collective failed to pay Rashada his $500,000 bonus, and the day after it was due then sent him a letter “purporting to terminate” his NIL contract. But Castro-Walker told Rashada’s agents that Gator Guard, Hathcock’s collective, would pick up the tab, and Hathcock ultimately wired Rashada $150,000 — the only payment Rashada actually received that is mentioned in the lawsuit.
Four days before Christmas 2022 was signing day for recruits like Rashada. Napier, who himself signed a $52 million, 7-year coaching contract the previous year, allegedly called Rashada and his father to convince them to go forward, saying that upon signing, Rashada would receive $1 million towards the money owed.
“Coach Napier said [Hathcock’s] on a plane and that he will wire 1 Mil,” Harlen Rashada texted his son’s agents, according to the suit. “He wants the paper work and I’m sending it if you are good.”
Castro-Walker assured Rashada’s agents that Napier would “get it done,” according to the suit, but that if Rashada delayed the coach may pull his scholarship offer.
Rashada signed his letter of intent for UF, but after what the lawsuit describes as more “unfulfilled” promises of NIL agreements, the quarterback “was left with no faith in the UF football team’s leadership and the individuals who had constantly lied to him.” Rashada transferred to Arizona State in early 2023.
The NCAA then opened an investigation into Rashada’s debacle at Florida. Days after the NCAA announced it was investigating, Castro-Walker — who also played a central role in another disputed NIL deal involving lineman Gervon Dexter that is now the subject of a lawsuit — was reported to no longer be working at UF.
Hardin, Rashada’s attorney, said in an interview that NCAA investigators interviewed Rashada for hours, and made plans to do the same with his father and agents. But after a federal judge in Tennessee ruled that the NCAA can no longer prevent players from negotiating NIL deals before enrolling at a school, Hardin said that the investigators informed him they were pausing the investigation.
Last month, Jaden transferred to Georgia, a move which Hardin said was inspired by a desire for the toughest competition in order to prepare for a planned career in the NFL.
“Jaden’s decision to attend Georgia this year was not in response to any promises, assurances, or offers connected to NIL money,” Rashada’s complaint reads. “He had learned his lesson.”
Rashada, now a quarterback for the University of Georgia, claims in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Pensacola that UF donor Hugh Hathcock promised him the massive payday, including a $500,000 signing bonus, and that Napier and another UF official pressured him to commit to the university with promises that he would be immediately financially set for life. According to the lawsuit, Hathcock even suggested he could secure Rashada’s father a job if his son committed to UF.
“All of these promises ultimately proved to be lies,” reads Rashada’s civil complaint.
Litigation between an active quarterback and a head coach adds a highly unusual chapter to the rivalry between UF and Georgia. And the lawsuit escalates what was already one of the most prominent scandals in the nascent era of NIL — or “name, image and likeness” — in which college athletes have for the first time been able to earn branding income related to their sports.
The NCAA opened an investigation into Rashada’s commitment to UF earlier this year, after it publicly unraveled. Rashada’s attorney, Texas-based Rusty Hardin, said that the investigation has since been shelved following a recent federal ruling that essentially allowed universities to dangle NIL deals as recruiting enticements, a practice that had previously been forbidden, if an open secret.
In an interview, Hardin said Rashada’s lawsuit was intended as a cautionary tale of what happens when university athletic officials and the boosters that surround them recruit elite athletes with little to no guardrails. “The big goal here is to shine daylight into what’s really going on here for people to decide,” Hardin said, "‘Are we so bothered by what’s going on here that we’re willing to take some action?’”
UF was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Napier, Hathcock and the university did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The NCAA also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When he graduated from high school in Pittsburg, Calif. in 2022, Rashada was the seventh-ranked quarterback entering college in the country. College athletes had only recently been allowed to profit from their likenesses, following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.
That sea change in college sports moved to the forefront figures like Hathcock, who after making his fortune in the automotive industry donated millions to his alma mater UF, where a basketball complex and a tower at a stadium now bear his name. According to Rashada’s lawsuit, he encountered Hathcock on a recruitment visit to UF, where the donor promised him that he “would make happen” whatever Rashada needed to come to UF — including a job for his father, former Arizona State football player Harlen Rashada, in the security industry.
Hathcock ran a “collective” — a booster group facilitating payments for athletes — called Gator Guard. He ultimately promised Rashada $11 million to commit to UF, according to the lawsuit. But by then, Rashada had already verbally committed to play in Miami, where he agreed to a $9.5 million NIL deal, the lawsuit states.
But that didn’t deter a UF official named Marcus Castro-Walker, who was the school’s director of player engagement and NIL — believed to be the first with that job specialty in university athletics. According to the complaint, in Oct. 2022 Castro-Walker texted Rashada’s two young agents, one of whom was a college student himself: “You already know what we need to do over the next few days!! Get us the QB👀🤣.”
“We need to lock down Jaden!” Castro-Walker texted a few days later, adding that they wanted Rashada “to flip this week.” (Castro-Walker did not respond to a request for comment.)
The following month, according to the lawsuit, Hathock finalized the terms of an offer to Rashada, including $5.35 million from his company, Velocity Automotive, and $13.85 million from Gator Guard. Hathcock seemingly alluded to the ongoing negotiations with Rashada when he tweeted, “Tomorrow will be a Great Day Gator Fans!!!”
But then Hathcock “balked,” according to the lawsuit, citing an impending sale of his company in stating that he didn’t want to directly fund the payments to Rashada. Instead, another group, the Gator Collective, got involved. Its CEO, Eddie Rojas, assured Rashada that the deal would still be financed, according to texts cited in the lawsuit.
“Tell Jaden we look forward to setting him up for life,” Rojas texted. “Need to set up his brokerage accounts asap. Dude is rich and we just got started.”
Rojas wrote that by nabbing a star recruit from UF’s downstate rival, “We are going to have to dodge the freaks in Miami[.] I hate Miami. This is going to be fun to watch.”
Rashada claimed that Gator Collective attorney Jennifer Grosso pressured him to publicly commit to UF. “I might go to sleep if I had $500K headed my way in two weeks,” Grosso wrote his agent late on the night of Nov. 10, 2022, according to the lawsuit. “But we need a commitment to get there!!!”
Rashada obliged, posting online a statement announcing his decision to commit to UF, along with a video of himself stepping out of a Lamborghini at UF’s football stadium. But Rashada’s lawyers now claim that his recruiters at UF “had neither the ability nor the intention of honoring their promise to pay him $13.85 million.”
According to the lawsuit, the Gator Collective failed to pay Rashada his $500,000 bonus, and the day after it was due then sent him a letter “purporting to terminate” his NIL contract. But Castro-Walker told Rashada’s agents that Gator Guard, Hathcock’s collective, would pick up the tab, and Hathcock ultimately wired Rashada $150,000 — the only payment Rashada actually received that is mentioned in the lawsuit.
Four days before Christmas 2022 was signing day for recruits like Rashada. Napier, who himself signed a $52 million, 7-year coaching contract the previous year, allegedly called Rashada and his father to convince them to go forward, saying that upon signing, Rashada would receive $1 million towards the money owed.
“Coach Napier said [Hathcock’s] on a plane and that he will wire 1 Mil,” Harlen Rashada texted his son’s agents, according to the suit. “He wants the paper work and I’m sending it if you are good.”
Castro-Walker assured Rashada’s agents that Napier would “get it done,” according to the suit, but that if Rashada delayed the coach may pull his scholarship offer.
Rashada signed his letter of intent for UF, but after what the lawsuit describes as more “unfulfilled” promises of NIL agreements, the quarterback “was left with no faith in the UF football team’s leadership and the individuals who had constantly lied to him.” Rashada transferred to Arizona State in early 2023.
The NCAA then opened an investigation into Rashada’s debacle at Florida. Days after the NCAA announced it was investigating, Castro-Walker — who also played a central role in another disputed NIL deal involving lineman Gervon Dexter that is now the subject of a lawsuit — was reported to no longer be working at UF.
Hardin, Rashada’s attorney, said in an interview that NCAA investigators interviewed Rashada for hours, and made plans to do the same with his father and agents. But after a federal judge in Tennessee ruled that the NCAA can no longer prevent players from negotiating NIL deals before enrolling at a school, Hardin said that the investigators informed him they were pausing the investigation.
Last month, Jaden transferred to Georgia, a move which Hardin said was inspired by a desire for the toughest competition in order to prepare for a planned career in the NFL.
“Jaden’s decision to attend Georgia this year was not in response to any promises, assurances, or offers connected to NIL money,” Rashada’s complaint reads. “He had learned his lesson.”
