GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida and quarterback recruit Jaden Rashada have officially parted ways in the wake of a high-profile, weeks-long drama surrounding a name, image and likeness agreement gone awry.
The Rashada drama, though, might not be over.
The 19-year-old and his family could seek legal recourse and financial restitution surrounding the collapse of an NIL deal for at least $13 million. An NCAA investigation into the deal’s machinations is possible, while a retooling of the school’s collectives is inevitable.
At issue is an agreement between the Rashadas and the Gator Collective, a third-party entity that raises money from athletic donors to fund NIL deals for athletes. The deal persuaded the 4-star prospect to flip his commitment from Miami to Florida on Nov. 10.
Rashada signed scholarship papers Dec. 21, but he never made it to Gainesville after telling reporters he planned to enroll early following the Jan. 3 Under Armour All-America game in Orlando.
Instead, he returned home to Pittsburg, Calif., and the disagreement soon became public. Whether it evolves into a lawsuit remains to be seen.
The school assuredly will revamp the collectives and NIL strategy.
Rated the nation’s No. 7 quarterback prospect by 247Sports composite rankings, Rashada’s exodus leaves the Gators without quarterback depth and the centerpiece of coach Billy Napier’s 2023 class.
Florida currently has three scholarship signal-callers, Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz, Jack Miller and Max Brown.
Mertz, who started 32 games for the Badgers, is expected to be the frontrunner for the starting job when spring practices open. Miller, a 2021 Ohio State transfer, started the Gators’ 30-3 loss to Oregon State in the Dec. 17 Las Vegas Bowl. Brown is a 3-star recruit from Tulsa, Okla., and a redshirt freshman considered a project.
The Gators targeted LSU transfer Walker Howard, a Lafayette, La., native with a longstanding relationship with Napier dating to his four seasons as coach at Louisiana. Howard, a rising redshirt freshman, committed Thursday to Ole Miss.
Rashada reportedly could visit Colorado and new coach Deion Sanders. Also is in the mix could be Washington and Arizona State, where his father, Harlen, played during the early 1990s.
