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Dan Murphy
Journeyman 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 that both men defrauded him by backing out of promises for a name, image and likeness contract worth as much as $13.85 million. The lawsuit — which also included a former Florida football staff member and Hathcock’s auto dealership as defendants — was the first of its kind in college sports’ era of paid athletes.
Rusty Hardin, who served as Rashada’s attorney in the case, confirmed they had settled with all parties involved and declined to share any details about the terms of the deal.
«He’s a bright young man with great judgment. He thought it was time to move on,» 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 in the 2026 season. He has made previous stops at Arizona State, Georgia and Sacramento State since withdrawing his intent to play for the Gators as a high school senior out of Pittsburg, California.
Napier was fired by Florida in October after a 3-4 start to the season. He was hired as coach of James Madison in December. Napier was scheduled to be deposed in the case during the same week the parties reached a settlement.
The attorneys who represented Napier and Hathcock in the case did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday night. Napier told reporters he was «comfortable with my actions» in Rashada’s recruitment shortly after the initial complaints was filed.
Rashada claimed in the lawsuit that Hathcock and Napier both promised him seven-figure sums during the recruiting process to lure him away from a prior commitment to play for Miami. The lawsuit indicated 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 that boosters never delivered on it.
Rashada’s recruitment in 2022 occurred before schools were allowed to pay athletes directly and when NCAA rules still prohibited booster collectives from negotiating the terms of an NIL contract with athletes prior to them enrolling on campus.
