You probably believe in Santa Claus if you think Rashada is a victim

Perhaps we are supposed to feel bad about the plight of Jaden Rashada. He’s a victim. If you don’t believe it then try navigating your way through all that was written Tuesday when Rashada’s lawsuit against Hugh Hathcock, the alleged big money booster; the defunct Gator Collective; and Florida coach Billy Napier.

To save those of you who couldn’t make it all the way through the ESPN version or some of the other lengthy essays that were hot topics on the internet Tuesday, here is the Reader’s Digest Condensed version: Jaden Rashada, a high school quarterback from California, was committed to Miami, whose mega booster John Ruiz promised more than $9 million. Then along came Florida, which wanted him, and Hugh Hathcock, who was the point man in negotiating a deal for the Gator Collective. They offered $11 million and bumped it to $13.85 million, which is a serious amount of cash for someone who, at the time, had never thrown a pass in a Southeastern Conference game. Rashada was promised $1 million up front whipout when he signed and a monthly stipend that could feed entire large villages in third world countries for months on end. He signed with Florida, didn’t get his money, and transferred to Arizona State. He played three games at Arizona State, apparently for an NIL deal that was somewhere between zero and a fraction of what he supposedly would be making at Florida. He played three games, broke his thumb, had surgery and transferred.

To Georgia. Now Kirby Smart may deny it until the cows come home, but impeccable sources have told me the Rashada lawsuit is with Kirby’s blessing. I suspected Georgia had something to do with it the moment I heard about the lawsuit. A conversation with someone who does indeed know confirmed my suspicions. Kirby is reveling in the possibility top recruits will turn from Florida because of this lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Rashada attorney Rusty Hardin states that his client is “the first scholar-athlete to take a stand against such egregious behavior by adults who should know better” and goes on to say that Rashada wants to “expose the unchecked abuse of power that they so shamelessly wielded.”

Scholar-athlete? Oh please. I’ve known some serious scholar-athletes at the University of Florida. Carlos Alvarez was one. So was Brad Culpepper. So was Matt Bonner. So was Trinity Thomas.

Jaden Rashada, scholar-athlete? Student-athlete, okay. Scholar? Doubtful.

Anyway, back to Rashada and the alleged stand he is taking on behalf of victims everywhere in college sports. In the Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi wrote, “Rashada is suddenly the poor, exploited high school kid who got taken advantage by a multi-millionaire Gator booster and the big, bad SEC football industrial complex … It should be noted that Rashada transferred to three different high schools and has now been tied to four different colleges in less than two years. He originally committed to Miami, signed with the Gators, transferred to Arizona State a few months later after the NIL deal with UF fell through and just recently transferred to Georgia.”

Ah yes, Georgia. Do you think for even one second that NIL money wasn’t involved in luring him to Georgia. Now, even Georgia isn’t stupid enough to offer him $13.85 million, but it’s probably a deal worth something close to seven numbers with a couple of commas in between.

If we’re going to talk about the egregious behavior by adults as stated by Rusty Hardin, then shouldn’t we include Jaden Rashada and his father in the conversations? His father was the point man in all the negotiations. If $9.5 million was actually on the table at Miami did he not ask for proof of funds? And if $9.5 million was really on the table, which is more than the outrageous amount Tennessee people paid for Nico Iamaleava, considered a far better prospect than Rashada, why did he go looking for more? If $9.5 million is a sure thing and we’re talking about a kid who has never taken a collegiate snap at quarterback, then you are certifiable to walk away from it. That’s egregious behavior by adults.

Which brings us to Hugh Hathcock, who allegedly promised to make good on $5.35 million of the $13.85 million including the $1 million up front the moment Rashada signed his letter of intent. People who talk as if they know a whole lot more about this than your basic $100 a year booster, raise a lot of questions about Hathcock. Among them, why didn’t he deliver the $1 million up front? Why didn’t he offer a proof of funds that would have calmed Rashada and pops? Would Rashada have remained a Gator if that had happened? A lot of folks seem to think so.

This whole thing is so stinky that quite a few Gator boosters are asking if Hugh Hathcock has actually paid out the entire $12.6 he promised to UF athletics awhile back, which is how his name got on the UF basketball facility. Now that Hathcock is at the center of a lawsuit that is dragging the entire Florida athletic program through the mud and perhaps causing kids who have been promised NIL money to second guess, shouldn’t Scott Stricklin offer assurances that Hathcock isn’t just a fat cat with an alligator-sized mouth and a hummingbird-sized sphincter?

The Gator Collective is mentioned. Hathcock had something called the Gator Guard, too, which was supposed to attract elite Gator boosters the way ants are attracted to pimento cheese and fried chicken at picnics. Somehow the Gator Collective and Gator Guard were in on this together through Marcus Castro-Walker, who is no longer with the Florida football program. Eddie Rojas headed the Gator Collective. I’m of the opinion the Gator Collective was headed by a few well-meaning amateurs who were duped by fast talk and promises of delivering a stud quarterback capable of restoring Florida to national glory. Memo to Eddie: Before entering into any deal that involves more than a few hundred dollars, ask for a proof of funds that is not more than 24 hours old.

Between Hathcock, Gator Guard and the Gator Collective, Tuesday made the whole world think their brains were shipped off to Pitcairn Island where they have to wait weeks for a re-supply ship to take them back to civilization.  

We should talk about Billy Napier. He wanted a quarterback with a big arm and Rashada does have a big arm. But, he got Graham Mertz in the transfer portal and I guarantee you for maybe 80-90 percent less than the money Rashada was offered. Graham Mertz came to Florida with more than 30 Division I starts, which showed up last season when he threw for 2,903 yards (8.1 per attempt) and 20 touchdowns, which is slightly more than the 485 yards (5.9 per attempt) and four touchdowns Rashada threw for at Arizona State. Mertz was the better deal and would UF have gotten DJ Lagway if Rashada had stayed a Gator? Would Lagway have signed with the Gators if he didn’t have something positive to prove there is integrity with Napier and UF?

The lawsuit says the Gator Collective backed out of the deal a couple of weeks prior to national signing day and that Billy Napier promised UF would “make good” on the original deal. There is nothing in writing to substantiate this claim.

Bianchi wrote, “I’m told that Napier actually got wind of this ridiculous NIL deal for Rashada and pulled the plug on it before the Gators did something really, really stupid – like blatantly breaking NCAA rules while giving a high school quarterback an inane contract worth nearly $14 million. It was at Napier’s behest that the Gator Collective finally exercised an option in the contract to terminate the deal before Rashada signed with UF.”

I’m no lawyer but a couple of lawyers I know think the best way to deal with this is to offer some go away money to Jaden Rashada. They believe that if this lawsuit ever sees a court room that there will be no winners so the best way is to settle and make sure the non-disclosure agreement is air tight so terms of the agreement never see the light of day. Fighting the suit would cost a lot of money and would keep this stench in the news, which would not be good for Florida recruiting.

So, here are suggestions about what should happen with NIL so we can avoid these problems in the future:  

1. It is ridiculous to be offering staggering amounts of money to kids who have never played a down of college football.

2. I’m not opposed to kids getting paid, especially football players whose injuries linger long after their playing days end, but maybe the best thing that could happen would be for some high profile kids with big NIL deals to be total busts. If that were to happen often enough, the NIL money might shrink considerably.

3. Find a legal way to make a rule that freshmen get a salary and after their freshman year, they can negotiate NIL deals.

4. Find a way to tie NIL money to performance in the classroom. Any kid who can’t maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and be in good academic standing should not receive NIL money.

5. Change the transfer rules. No kid should be allowed to transfer until he/she has spent a fall and spring on campus. No kid should be allowed to transfer without sitting out a year if he/she has less than a 2.5 GPA. If a kid transfers and is still taking remedial courses, then the kid has to sit a year.

6. No NIL money for any kid taking remedial courses.

7. Schools (or through their representatives) that pay recruits before they’ve stepped on campus (whether high school or portal), are docked THREE scholarships for four years for first time offenders. A second offense within 24 months results in being docked FIVE scholarships for four years. A third offense within a 5-year window would result in TEN scholarships docked for TEN YEARS.

8. Any coach who willfully participates in illegally paying  or promising to pay NIL money to a recruit before the kid steps on campus is fined $1 million. Second offense, suspension for two years. Assistant coaches fined their salary with a two-year suspension for a second offense.

9. Division I college football secedes from the NCAA and forms its own organization with its own rules regarding NIL, transfers, etc., and a commissioner with absolute power to enforce the rules. Once football is on firm footing, then every school that wants to remain Division I must secede all sports from the NCAA.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The waiting game begins for the Florida baseball team, which took it on the chin, 6-3, to Vanderbilt in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover. The Gators are 28-27 so they are eligible to make the NCAA tournament but things could get dicey if some unknown wins the championship in some of the typical 1-bid leagues.

There are a lot of reasons Florida had a poor season. Pitching certainly has plenty to do with it although we saw three pitchers Tuesday that could help UF rebound next year in Pierce Coppola, Jake Clemente and Fisher Jameson. That is, if they choose to stay. Another reason the Gators had a tough year is Kevin O’Sullivan didn’t have good people protecting Jac Caglianone. No leadoff hitter with speed who doesn’t strike out. A hitter behind Cag who doesn’t strike out a lot. Too many strikeouts up and down the lineup other than Caglianone, who rarely whiffs. Worst fielding team that O’Sullivan has had at UF. Left side of the infield didn’t get to a lot of balls. Slow outfield that had three below average arms. Not good defense behind the plate when Tanner Garrison got hurt.

Florida baseball will almost certainly rebound from this year with a vengeance next season, but that doesn’t erase the anxiety the Gators will feel the next few days as they sweat out what the NCAA selection committee is thinking.