Rashada, Napier, Others Settle Florida NIL Contract Cases

Well-traveled quarterback Jaden Rashada has settled his lawsuit against former Florida football coach Billy Napier and a school booster, according to court documents and Rashada’s attorney.

Rashada sued Napier and Gators booster Hugh Hathcock in 2024, claiming both men defrauded him by reneging on promises of a name, image and similar contract worth $13.85 million. The lawsuit — which included a former Florida football staff member and Hathcock’s auto dealership as defendants — is the first of its kind in the college sports era involving paid athletes.

Rusty Hardin, who served as Rashada’s attorney in the case, confirmed that they have settled with all parties involved and declined to share any details about the terms of the settlement.

“He’s a bright young man with judgment,” Hardin told ESPN on Tuesday. “He made the point he wanted to make and now he’s ready to go play football.”

Rashada signed last month to play for Mississippi State through the 2026 season. He has made previous stops at Arizona State, Georgia and Sacramento State since decommitting to play for the Gators as a high school senior in Pittsburgh, Calif.

Florida fired Napier in October after a 3-4 start to the season. In December, he was appointed as the coach of James Madison. The parties reached a settlement the same week Napier was scheduled to testify in the case.

Attorneys representing Napier and Hathcock in the case did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday night. Napier told reporters he “felt comfortable with my actions” in hiring Rashadar shortly after filing the initial complaint.

Rashada claims in the lawsuit that Hathcock and Napier made seven-figure promises to him during the recruiting process to lure him away from a prior commitment to play for Miami. The lawsuit indicates that Napier promised the quarterback’s father a $1 million signing bonus hours before Rashada signed his letter of intent to play for the Gators but the boosters never paid it.

Rashada was hired in 2022 before schools were allowed to pay athletes directly and when NCAA rules still prohibited booster collectives from negotiating NIL contract terms with athletes before enrolling them on campus.