According to the lawsuit, Hathcock, Castro-Walker, and Coach Napier colluded to deceive Jaden and received significant support from each other in carrying out their fraudulent activities. It states that “Hathcock (on behalf of himself and Velocity Automotive), Castro-Walker, and Coach Napier orchestrated and executed a fraud upon Jaden and were substantially and knowingly assisted by one another in carrying out the fraud. Each of their individual schemes would not have succeeded without assistance from one another.”
“We are unable to provide any comments regarding the ongoing litigation. It should be noted that neither the University Athletic Association nor the University are mentioned in the complaint,” stated UAA spokesperson Steve McClain. He further added, “We will ensure that Coach Napier’s personal counsel is taken care of and any inquiries should be directed to them.”
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Rashada has hired renowned Houston-based lawyer Rusty Hardin to handle the case. Hardin, who has previously represented prominent athletes like Roger Clemens and Adrian Peterson, has been involved in potential legal action against Napier and others since January 2023. Rashada’s agents, Jackson Zager and Tommy Thomsen, initially contacted Hardin to explore legal options after alleged breaches of a multi-million dollar NIL deal by Florida boosters.
The crux of the argument revolves around the actions of Napier, Hathcock, and Velocity Automotive, along with Castro-Walker’s influence on Rashada. They convinced Rashada to turn down a $9.5 million NIL deal with Miami in favor of Florida. Despite committing to Miami in June 2022 under the terms of the initial deal, the lawsuit claims that Florida employees and boosters continued to pursue Rashada, a talented athlete from Pittsburg, California. The allegations include Hathcock telling Rashada that he would do whatever it took to bring him to UF. Furthermore, it is alleged that Harlen Rashada, Jaden’s father, was promised a job in the security industry during a recruiting visit. It is important to note that direct contact between a booster and a recruit during an on-campus visit is against NCAA rules.
In order to persuade Rashada, Hathcock and Castro-Walker proposed a lucrative $13.85 million agreement. The payment would be split between Hathcock’s Velocity Automotive company, with $5.35 million, including a $500,000 signing bonus, and Gator Guard, the NIL collective founded by Hathcock. It is worth noting that Hathcock had already pledged to donate $12.6 million to the Gator Boosters. Initial reports indicated that Gator Guard had raised an impressive $5 million within its first day.
Before finalizing the deal, Hathcock informed Rashada’s representatives that he no longer wanted to route the NIL payments through his company because he planned to sell it, according to the lawsuit. Instead, he and Castro-Walker proposed that the money come directly from Hathcock, with the rest coming through the Gator Collective, Florida’s other NIL collective. Eddie Rojas, CEO of Gator Collective, allegedly texted Zager about the imminent deal, saying, “Tell Jaden we look forward to setting him up for life. Need to set up his brokerage accounts asap. Dude is rich and we just got started.” The deal was officially signed on November 10, 2022, with the first $500,000 payment scheduled for Rashada on December 5.
According to the lawsuit, Hathcock had no intention of making the payment, and it is alleged that everyone involved, including Napier, was aware of this.
“The collective never had the money, yet they were making all of these promises to the kid,” explained Hardin in an interview with CBS Sports. “When you dangle life-changing, generation-changing money in front of a 19-year-old who has never experienced it before, it’s unrealistic to expect that the young person won’t be affected by it. The power dynamics are completely unequal in this situation.”
The Gator Collective terminated the $13.85 million deal with Rashada through a termination letter, just one day after the $500,000 payment was due. Despite this, Napier and Castro-Walker made efforts to assure Rashada that they would still fulfill their promise of providing the money, even without a contract. Castro-Walker informed Rashada’s agents that the Gator Guard would now be responsible for the payment and that Hathcock, through the Gator Guard, would personally guarantee the $13.85 million obligation. However, the only payment that was allegedly made was $150,000, which was used to repay John Ruiz, a prominent Miami booster. This payment was made to avoid potential litigation with Ruiz, who was seeking repayment from the initial $9.5 million NIL deal.
According to John H. Ruiz, there was never a 9.5 million dollar deal between LifeWallet and Rashada. Ruiz clarified that LifeWallet had a small deal with Rashada when he was a high school student in California. He emphasized that Rashada and his father are trustworthy individuals, and he maintains a positive relationship with both of them. Ruiz also stated that LifeWallet has always dealt with NIL players honestly and fairly, and has a track record of complying with all of its NIL deals. Additionally, LifeWallet was repaid by those who were in charge of the Gators fundraising efforts. While Ruiz has his own perspective on the matter, he believes that the focus should be on the best interests of Rashada as a young man.
On December 21, during the early signing period, the situation reached a critical point. It is alleged that Napier personally assured Rashada that the Florida alumni would honor their promise of providing $1 million if Jaden signed with UF on National Signing Day, and that Hathcock would facilitate the payment. In a text message to Zager, Harlen Rashada mentioned that Coach Napier had informed him that Hathcock was on a plane and would wire the money. Rashada also mentioned that Castro-Walker had threatened him, suggesting that if he didn’t sign, Napier might revoke his scholarship offer.
According to CBS Sports, Hardin expressed his disapproval of Napier’s involvement in making promises that were against NCAA rules. Hardin believed that Napier should not have taken on that responsibility and should have refrained from making those promises. Unfortunately, Napier did not heed this advice and became entangled in a situation he should have avoided.
Less than a month later, Rashada requested to be released from his letter of intent with Florida, and he ultimately chose Arizona State, his father’s alma mater. It’s worth noting that he wasn’t given any NIL compensation at Arizona State. In his first season as a true freshman in 2023, he started three games and emerged victorious in his debut. Recently, Rashada made the decision to transfer to Georgia during the spring.
According to sources, Rashada notified Georgia coach Kirby Smart about his plan to file the lawsuit, and Smart approved of it.
Castro-Walker is no longer employed by Florida, although the university has not provided any specific reason for his departure. Sources indicate that the NCAA was actively looking into the case, conducting interviews with the involved parties, and receiving cooperation from Florida during the investigation. However, after the Tennessee and Virginia versus NCAA lawsuit, which deemed the enforcement of NIL-related compensation rules by the NCAA as unlawful, the NCAA’s enforcement division decided to step back.
According to the lawsuit, Jaden’s unfortunate ordeal vividly illustrates the consequences that young student-athletes may face when affluent, victory-driven alumni interfere with the college football recruiting process.
