ATHENS — The Georgia-Florida rivalry just got some more “juice.”
Bulldogs quarterback Jaden Rashada, who just transferred to UGA from Arizona State, has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the University of Florida and the Gators’ football program he signed with out of high school in December 2022. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court of Northern Florida in Pensacola on Monday. The basis of the legal action is “fraud” and “unethical and illegal behavior,” according to Rashada’s attorney, Rusty Hardin of Hardin and Associates of Houston. Rashada seeks $10 million in damages, Hardin said.
A native of Pittsburg, California, Rashada was the No. 7-rated quarterback in the nation in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. His lawsuit names as defendants Florida coach Billy Napier, booster Hugh Hancock of Velocity Automotive Solutions and Marcus Castro-Walker, director of Florida’s NIL collective group.
Those individuals are accused of reneging on a $13.85 million name, image and likeness agreement they made before Rashada signing with the Gators. The suit claims Florida’s offer was made in response to a $9.5 million NIL deal Rashada previously accepted from Miami to commit to the Hurricanes.
In the end, Hardin claims that Napier promised Rashada only $1 million after he signed with the Gators. Rashada eventually was released by Florida and signed with Arizona State, where he played last season. Rashada entered the transfer portal this spring and signed a grant-in-aid agreement with UGA, where he recently enrolled.
“Sadly, this type of fraud is becoming more commonplace in the ‘Wild West’ that is today’s college NIL landscape,” Hardin said in a statement sent to the AJC. “Wealthy alumni, consumed by their schools’ athletic programs, are taking advantage of young people by offering them life-changing sums of money, only to renege on their commitments. As the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against this egregious behavior, Jaden seeks to hold these defendants accountable for their actions and to expose their as-yet unchecked abuse of power.”
Hardin said Rashada has no NIL agreements with Georgia and that he had none with Arizona State either.
At this time, the University of Florida has not issued a response to the lawsuit or the allegation.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, Rashada started the first two games of last season as a freshman quarterback at Arizona State. However, he aggravated a knee injury and didn’t play again until the end of the season. His final numbers were 485 yards on 53.7% passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He rushed 14 times for 23 yards. Rashada sat out spring practice with the Sun Devils because of a thumb injury that required surgery.
Georgia is led by senior quarterback Carson Beck, a favorite to contend for the 2024 Heisman Trophy. Sophomore Gunner Stockton is entrenched firmly as Beck’s backup. So, Rashada initially will share third-team snaps with freshman Ryan Puglisi. Summer workouts begin the first of June.
