Ex-Pittsburg High QB Jaden Rashada settles breach of contract suit over failed $14M NIL deal

By MARK LONG

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Former Pittsburg High star quarterback Jaden Rashada’s lawsuit against former Florida coach Billy Napier and three other defendants regarding a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million has been settled.

Court documents show the case was formally settled Tuesday when a mediation report was delivered. The sides held a mediation conference early last week. Napier, now the coach at James Madison, was in town for his deposition. The judge had set a trial date for July.

Details of the settlement were not released.

Rashada sued Napier, Florida booster Hugh Hathcock, Hathcock’s former company, Velocity Automotive, and Marcus Castro-Walker, the program’s former director of player engagement, in federal court in Pensacola in 2024.

He accused Napier, Hathcock, Velocity and Castro-Walker of fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, aiding and abetting fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, negligent misrepresentations, tortious interference with a business relationship or contract, aiding and abetting tortious interference and vicarious liability. The complaint requested a jury trial and damages of at least $10 million.

The NCAA began investigating Florida in 2023 regarding Rashada’s recruitment. The NCAA asked the school not to conduct its own investigation and said it would notify the institution “soon regarding the projected timeline of the investigation.”

But the following year, the NCAA halted investigations into booster-backed collectives or other third parties making NIL compensation deals with Division I athletes following lawsuits. The decision came after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia. The antitrust suit challenged NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes’ ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame.

The lawsuit, though, landed the Gators back in the spotlight.

Rashada, who threw for 5,275 yards and 59 touchdowns at Pittsburg (California) High School, initially agreed to play for Miami in the fall of 2022. According to the lawsuit, the Hurricanes promised Rashada a $9.5 million NIL deal.

But Napier and Hathcock lured Rashada away from Miami with a $13.85 million NIL deal that violated NCAA bylaws, the suit said. Rashada’s deal was with the Gator Collective, an independent fundraising group that was loosely tied to the university and paid student-athletes for use of their NIL. The Gator Collective has since been disbanded.

The lawsuit accused Napier of vouching for the Gator Collective and promising Rashada $1 million on signing day.

Rashada was granted his release a month after his NIL deal fell through. He later signed with his father’s alma mater, Arizona State. He spent 2023 there, transferred to Georgia in 2024, transferred to Sacramento State in 2025 and is now at Mississippi State.