A first-of-its-kind NIL lawsuit is brewing.
Forbes reports that Jaden Rashada is suing Hugh Hathcock and his business, Velocity Automotive; University of Florida football coach Billy Napier; and Florida’s NIL director, Marcus Castro-Walker, for alleged “fraud, negligence, and interference.”
As previously shared by AFROTECH™, Rashada was initially committed to the University of Miami in Florida for a reported $9.5 million deal. However, in 2023, he pivoted to signing with the Florida Gators for $13.85 million, but the Gator Collective ultimately terminated the binding agreement.
After the failed deal, Rashada moved on to Arizona State University and most recently transferred to the University of Georgia as quarterback.
Now, Forbes details that Rashada has sued Hathcock, Napier, and Castro-Walker for allegedly causing him to not only lose out on the Miami deal but also potential offers from other colleges and universities. Moreover, he is seeking punitive damages.
In Rashada’s lawsuit, it also claims that on top of being promised a NIL deal of $13.85 million over four years, Napier allegedly promised to pay the college football player $1 million on his signing day to Florida.
“Hathcock (on behalf of himself and Velocity Automotive), Castro-Walker and Coach Napier orchestrated and executed a fraud upon Jaden and were substantially and knowingly assisted by one another in carrying out the fraud,” the lawsuit reads, per CBS Sports. “Each of their individual schemes would not have succeeded without assistance from one another.”
What’s more, reports Forbes, the lawsuit describes the soured deal as “emblematic of the abuses running rampant in the world of big-time college football” and states that it shows “what can happen to young student-athletes when wealthy, win-at-all-cost alumni insert themselves into college football’s recruiting process.”
As for comments on the lawsuit from the defendants, there haven’t been any as of this writing. However, Steve McClain, University of Florida Athletic Association’s spokesperson, came forward with a statement.
“We do not comment on ongoing litigation, and neither the University Athletic Association nor the University are named in the complaint,” McClain stated, according to CBS Sports. “The UAA will provide for Coach Napier’s personal counsel, and we will direct all questions to those representatives.”
