Florida’s head coach and two others seek to have Rashada’s case dismissed. Florida Football coach Billy Napier and two others have moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former quarterback signee Jaden Rashada regarding a failed $13.85 million name, image, and likeness deal.
The case names Napier, booster Hugh Hathcock, and former staff member Marcus Castro-Walker. It alleges fraud and other wrongdoing in enticing Rashada away from Miami with false promises of NIL payments. Rashada, who played one season at Arizona State before moving to Georgia, believes he was mislead about the financial circumstances of his Florida commitment. The quarterback was considered a frontrunner to sign with the Gators, but he formally committed to Miami in June 2022. He
subsequently decommitted in November 2022 and quickly relocated to Florida. He signed his letter of intent in December of that year, but never made it to campus and was eventually freed from his national letter of intent in January of 2023.Among other things, his lawsuit alleges that Napier promised Rashada a $1 million payout if he signed with the Gators on National Signing Day.
In their motions, Napier, Hathcock, and Castro-Walker rejected the charges, stating that there is insufficient evidence to back them up. Napier’s motion maintains that he could not have misled Rashada because the purported assurances were made after Rashada had already abandoned his Miami NIL contract. Castro-Walker’s filing describes the case as “fiction.”
Castro-Walker was sacked by the Gators in February, shortly after it was revealed that he was named in an NCAA inquiry into the Rashada saga. The probe has since been paused.
Hathcock had helped form the Gator Guard, a Florida-based NIL collective. Since then, its operations have been paused as Florida focuses its efforts on Florida Victorious.
Napier will lead the Gators to the field on August 31 against Miami.
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