Former Florida employee demands dismissal of Jaden Rashada’s $10,000,000 lawsuit over failed NIL deal: Reports

Former Florida staffer Marcus Castro-Walker alongside head coach Billy Napier and booster Hugh Hathcock are seeking the dismissal of Jaden Rashada’s $10 million lawsuit against Napier. They accused the Georgia quarterback of promoting “cunning conspiracy theories.”

Castro-Walker made the move for the suit to be dismissed in the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of Florida on Tuesday. Napier and Hathcock joined him by filing a motion to dismiss the case. This brings a whole new complexion to the name, image and likeness lawsuit.

Jaden Rashada filed the lawsuit against Napier, Castro-Walker, Hathcock and Hathcock's car company in May, making allegations of fraud, negligence and interfering with business deals. It was claimed in the suit that Rashada received a $13.85 million offer from Florida to flip from Miami where he had a $9.5 million offer.

Castro-Walker denies any wrongdoing

In his response to Rashada's suit on Monday, Castro-Walker disputed the fraud complaints by the quarterback, arguing that the lawsuit never accused him of personally agreeing to any payments. He also explained the impact hearing the case will have on college football.

“The simple truth is that overly optimistic ‘promises’ are made every day in college football recruiting …” Castro-Walker said in his response for dismissal on Tuesday.

“Opening the doors of the federal courthouse to every college football player seeking injunctive relief or specific performance of an ‘oral contract’ when their dream doesn’t materialize would only lead to a class of plaintiffs larger than any mass tort action on record.”

Castro-Walker’s attorneys also contended in the response that sovereign immunity protected his actions from legal claims. He asserted that his good-faith recruiting efforts were part of his duties for the Florida Gators, which is a state-affiliated entity.

Billy Napier’s motion faults Jaden Rashada's lawsuits

In his motion filed on Tuesday, Florida head coach Billy Napier faulted the complaint filed by Jaden Rashada, claiming nothing in it accuses him of violation. It was also claimed that the communication between him and Rashada came after his flip from Miami.

“Nothing alleged in the complaint supports the notion that Napier participated in any wrongdoing,” Billy Napier’s motion said. “Nowhere does the complaint adequately allege, for example, that Napier knew about whatever occurred between Rashada, his “NIL agents,” and the Gator Collective, LLC.

In fact, the complaint makes clear that Napier could not have defrauded Rashada, since the sole statement attributed to Napier is alleged to have been made after Rashada had already abandoned the Miami NIL deal.”

Jaden Rashada had his freshman season at his father's alma mater Arizona in 2023 after the alleged deal with Florida fell through. He played as a backup for the Wildcats, appearing in three games. He will play his redshirt freshman season at Georgia in 2024 after transferring in April.