If the Jaden Rashada situation isn’t proof of how much college football has become like the pros, then nothing is.
Rashada, a 5-star quarterback prospect according to 247 Sports, made headlines on Wednesday when it was reported that he wanted Florida to release him from his National Letter of Intent. Rashada committed to Miami over the summer and then flipped to Florida in November, though he didn’t sign his Letter of Intent until the end of the day.
Keep in mind that Rashada reportedly had turned down millions when he committed to Miami.
Even though it was reported Wednesday that Rashada requested his release from his NLI, the quarterback’s father said that wasn’t true. That seemed to be an indication that maybe the Rashada family was posturing in order to make Florida follow through on some sort of financial commitment the school made in order for him to commit to sign with them. That seems to be exactly what is going on.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that Rashada has not enrolled at Florida because an “NIL agreement for around $13 million was not honored.”
Rashada could be working to sever ties with the Gators. He reportedly has returned home to Northern California.
Rashada and his family need to be careful about losing focus of the most important factors in his football career. Or maybe if you’re able to land multimillions in NIL deals, who needs an NFL career? The Rashada family could be considering that.
This also goes to show how unstable some of these deals can be. $13 million is a very big number. It’s really a crazy number for someone who hasn’t played a down of college football or even showed up on campus.
It’s not too surprising that some of these promises may not be fully realized, which could help explain recruits switching back-and-forth from schools.
