Hearing date set in Jaden Rashda's NIL lawsuit against Billy Napier

A hearing in Jaden Rashada’s lawsuit against Florida head coach Billy Napier, a former staffer and booster Hugh Hathcock has been scheduled for early December. U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers will hear oral arguments for the multiple motions to dismiss on Wednesday, Dec. 18, in Pensacola, Florida.

Originally filed last May, the lawsuit centers around the one-time Florida quarterback commit claiming he was repeatedly lied to for him to flip his commitment from Miami to Florida. He also signed a four-year, $13.85 million contract with the Gator Collective that was later voided. Rodgers will hear early arguments for motions to dismiss in the U.S. District Court of Northern Florida.

Former Florida staffer Marcus Castro-Walker, Hathcock and Napier all filed motions to dismiss Rashada’s lawsuit in July. According to court documents, oral arguments will be held starting at 10 a.m. ET on Dec. 18.

The third-year head coach previously argued that nothing in Rashada’s complaint “supports the notion that Napier participated in any wrongdoing.” Napier’s motion to dismiss also stated Rashada’s lawsuit did not provide evidence the coach knew about the contract between Rashada, his NIL agents and the NIL collective.

“The timing of the events alleged in the Complaint shows that Napier could not have ‘fraudulently induce[d] Jaden to abandon his $9.5 million Miami deal,’” the motion states. “Rashada had already abandoned that deal by November 10, 2022 – more than a month before Napier’s alleged involvement. For that reason, among others, the Complaint fails to state a claim against Napier.”

Jaden Rashada’s first payment was scheduled for Dec. 5, 2022, in the amount of $500,000 – a signing bonus, sources previously told On3. That payment never materialized, despite multiple reassurances, according to case documents. On Dec. 6, the day after the bonus was due, the Gator Collective terminated the contract in a letter sent to Rashada, sources told On3. 

On National Signing Day on Dec. 21, 2022, the quarterback had still not received a payment, according to the case. Rashada delayed the signature of his National Letter of Intent. 

“These actions culminated with Coach Napier himself vouching that UF alumni were good on their promise that Jaden would receive $1 million if he signed with UF on National Signing Day,” Rashada’s initial complaint stated. “Defendant Castro-Walker leveraged the coach’s promise that Napier would ‘get it done,’ and threatened – on National Signing Day – that, if Jaden did not sign a national letter of intent with UF, Coach Napier might walk away from Jaden entirely.

“Despite the threats and promises, neither Coach Napier nor wealthy boosters like Hathcock ever ‘got it done’ for Jaden.”

Napier and his attorneys pushed back on those claims.

“The Complaint does not say whether – much less how – the alleged statement was ever relayed to Rashada. It does not allege that Rashada’s father told him about it – only that he told the NIL agents, [Jackson] Zager and [Tommy] Thomsen. And the Complaint does not reveal what, if anything, Zager and Thomsen told Rashada about Napier’s alleged statement,” Napier’s lawyers wrote in July.

Viewed as one of the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 cycle, Rashada boasted a strong arm with plenty of upside. He’s now at Georgia after transferring last offseason from Arizona State. The Bulldogs beat Florida 34-20 earlier this season.