By Scott Salomon
Jaden Rashada could bring down a once-proud University of Florida football program. Despite transferring out of the program months after signing his National Letter of Intent, Rashada finds himself in the middle of an NCAA probe against the Gators for their collective’s failure to honor the commitment made to Rashada when he got out of his school and signed with the Gators.
The NCAA is investigating the recruitment of the blue-chip quarterback who originally signed with the Gators in December, 2022. He sought a release from his National Letter of Intent as the Gator Collective, the unaffiliated NIL arm for the University defaulted on his first payment.
Rashada first flipped to the Gators from Miami due to the insane amount of money that was allegedly offered to the signal-caller. When he got stiffed by UF, he packed his bags and transferred to Arizona State, where he started two games as a freshman.
“We have been and will continue to cooperate with the NCAA,” said UF spokesperson Steve McClain said in a statement released to ESPN. “We hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and integrity on and off the field. Because we follow NCAA policies about maintaining confidentiality, we are unable to offer additional comments.“
Matt Baker, a reporter with the Tampa Bay Times gets credit for breaking the story. According to Baker the university was sent a Notice of Inquiry last June and it is finally coming to the surface. The Times made a request for all documentation, and they were originally rebuffed. However, the documents came to light on Friday.
Per Baker’s article, he cites a February 2023 communication with Head Coach Billy Napier when Napier was asked if he thought the university was going to hear anything further from the NCAA on the Rashada matter and Napier answered in the negative.
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“We don’t“
BREAKING: The #Gators' football program is under NCAA investigation.
Story⬇️https://t.co/ekZX2U726d— Matt Baker (@MattBakerCFB) January 19, 2024
It appears as though the NCAA is not taking violations of NIL policies and contracts with a grain of salt. Last month the Florida State Seminoles were severely sanctioned for alleged violations and were put on probation for two years and offensive line coach Alex Atkins was suspended for three games next season.
Rashada was originally offered $9.5 million by a University of Miami booster for his Name, Image and Likeness rights, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. On a subsequent visit to Florida, the Gators Collective offered a whopping $13.85 million over his four years of eligibility, according to Feldman.
Rashada saw nothing from the Gator Collective, who subsequently went bust and is now out of business.
The Gator Collective contract was obtained by The Athletic and the first payment of $500,000 which was due on December 5, 2022 was never paid. Rashada was supposed to get paid for social media usage and autographing certain items.
The NCAA is investigating Florida football over the Jaden Rashada recruiting saga, sources confirm to @TheAthletic.
Plus some more details from @slmandel: https://t.co/IjKHwaTKhFhttps://t.co/IjKHwaTKhF
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) January 20, 2024
NCAA frowns on pay-for-play contracts and disallows NIL negotiations or other financial incentives in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes by its institutions.
It appears as though the Florida NIL arm is broken. That is evident. Recruits were dropping quicker than the 1987 stock market crash during the 2024 cycle. Florida was once ranked with the third-best recruiting class in the country, but fell off the pace and finished outside the top 10, as the outside Gator Collective money disappeared.
