The potential successor to Carson Beck just added a new layer to Georgia's SEC rivalry with Florida.
Former four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada is suing Gators coach Billy Napier and Florida booster Hugh Hathcock over an NIL deal that fell through and led Rashada to decommit from the school.
The well-traveled quarterback ultimately spent his true freshman season at Arizona State before transferring to Georgia, but he evidently isn't ready to move on from the debacle that ended his time at Florida before it even began.
Here's a closer look at Rashada's career and what went down with his NIL deal at Florida.
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Who is Jaden Rashada?
Rashada was a consensus top-50 recruit in the class of 2023, ranking as the No. 44 overall player and No. 6 quarterback according to 247 Sports.
He's only played one season of college football, but Rashada has already been affiliated with four different schools: Miami, Florida, Arizona State and Georgia. The 20-year-old initially committed to Miami before flipping to Florida in November 2022. A failed NIL deal prompted Rashada to ask out of his letter of intent and instead sign with Arizona State.
Rashada opened the 2023 season as the Sun Devils' starting quarterback but would appear in only three games, missing a large chunk of the year due to injury. Rather than compete for the starting job as Arizona State moves to the Big 12, Rashada transferred to Georgia in April.
Many players transfer for a better chance at playing time, but Rashada instead opted to sit behind Beck for a year and potentially take over as the Bulldogs' quarterback in 2025.
Rashada played at three different high schools, so he's certainly not unfamiliar with a change in environment between high school and college transfers.
Jaden Rashada NIL deal, explained
Rashada decommitted from Miami and joined Florida when he received a four-year, $13.85 million NIL offer crafted by the Gator Collective, Florida's NIL initiative. Rashada was promised a $1 million upfront payment when he signed the deal, but he claims he never received it.
The deal was terminated when "the financial backing did not materialize," according to ESPN. Rashada quickly asked to be released from his letter of intent and instead signed with Arizona State in a turn of events that made national headlines because NIL money was a central factor in his decision.
"As the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against such egregious behavior by adults who should know better, Jaden seeks to hold Defendants accountable for their actions and to expose the unchecked abuse of power that they shamelessly wielded," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also seeks damages for a $9.5 million NIL offer from Miami that Rashada passed on to accept Florida's offer. It isn't known what kind of deal Rashada received to join Arizona State.
Napier and Hathcock "changed their tune and went back on their word" after Rashada flipped to Florida, according to the lawsuit, and the money available for the quarterback was not what the athletic program had initially claimed.
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The Rashada saga was part of a rocky first two years at Florida for Napier, who has yet to produce a winning season with the Gators. Rashada's exit effectively guaranteed that Graham Mertz would be Florida's starter in 2023, and the Gators finished just 5-7 while some fans blamed Napier for letting Rashada get away.
Florida has a loaded SEC schedule in 2024, including a road matchup with Georgia, so a potentially difficult year just got even tougher for Napier with Tuesday's lawsuit.
Jaden Rashada stats
| Season | School | Games | CMP% | Yards | TD | INT |
| 2023 | Arizona State | 3 | 53.7% | 485 | 4 | 3 |
Rashada opened 2023 as Arizona State's starting quarterback but suffered an undisclosed injury after two games and didn't return until rivalry week, when he struggled in a blowout loss to Arizona.
The 20-year-old underwent offseason thumb surgery and missed spring practices for the Sun Devils before entering the transfer portal and committing to Georgia. By joining the Bulldogs, Rashada is effectively taking 2024 as a developmental year behind Beck before potentially getting a chance to start for one of college football's premier programs in 2025.
