How Jaden Rashada's Camp Took A Gamble And Missed Out On Millions
A talented quarterback in college can truly turn around a team. For example, Joe Burrow was one of the main reasons that LSU was able to go from a borderline SEC Championship team to undefeated National Champions in 2019.
Therefore, this makes quarterbacks a hot commodity on the recruiting trail. One of the top names from this year's class is Jaden Rashada, who recently signed his NLI to Arizona State. However ASU wasn't the first school Rashada signed a NLI too, or even committed to.
After negotiations broke down on a potential $13.85 million Name, Image, and Likeness deal with Florida per The Athletic, Rashada finds himself in Tempe without a deal and a missed opportunity. But at the end of the day, was it really his fault?
The Miami Chapter
Before Rashada became a national name for his NIL deal gone wrong, he was just a promising quarterback out of Pittsburgh, CA. A four-star composite recruit, Rashada has been a top prospect since he broke onto the scene in 2021 with a North Coast Section Division I title.
When it came time to make a decision on where to play college ball, Rashada narrowed it down to seven schools in May of his junior season. California, Florida, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas A&M were narrowed down as his choices.
After a visit in Summer 2022 to Coral Gables, it was a matter of days before Rashada announced his decision. On a televised announcement, Rashada declared his intent to sign with the Miami Hurricanes on June 26th that year.
Rashada's commitment came at a time when Miami was hot on the trail, as head coach Mario Cristobal was showing the nation that he's one of the best recruiters in all of CFB. Rashada would be joined by fellow Elite 11 prospect Emory Williams in the 2023 class.
With both quarterbacks seeming to be locked in on restoring the Canes to glory, Miami fans had a lot to look forward to. However, a more lucrative offer came across the table for Rashada's camp, as he would head up North with eyes on the prize.
The Florida Chapter
Florida and head coach Billy Napier spent much of the 2023 cycle going up against Cristobal and the Hurricanes for recruits. Miami won a majority of those battles, most shockingly when they won over the crown-jewel in Cormani McClain (who since has decommitted and signed with Colorado). After that, Florida fans were devastated until Napier went back at them.
A month before Early Signing Day, Napier flipped Rashada from Coral Gables to acquire their predecessor to Anthony Richardson. Miami Hurricane fans were shocked, as Rashada appeared a strong believer in the 2023 Miami class.
However, money talks and a $13.5 million NIL deal was too much to say no to. Whether it was Rashada's independent decision to go or not remains unclear, it's believed his father played a significant role.
We charted QB Jaden Rashada’s recruitment from his discovery to his Miami commitment to a since-terminated $13.85 million deal to go to Florida.
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) February 6, 2023
It’s a tour through the untamed world of recruiting in the NIL era.
The contract is especially eye-popping. https://t.co/sOj1mvHfZc pic.twitter.com/agX3ljVAmV
The tweet above breaks down the payments and stipulations of the proposed contract. Rashada was set to see monthly payments increasing year by year at Florida until his senior season. At that number, Rashada would be making money similar to a late first-round NFL pick. However, this contract was nothing but a proposal, as The Gator Collective reneged the deal right before the initial $500,000 payment was to be made.
From then on, rumors began to surface of Rashada asking to be released from his NLI but weren't confirmed at the time. Then on January 17th, Rashada was released from his NLI officially and became a recruit yet again.
The ASU Chapter
When ASU hired Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham to replace Herm Edwards, nobody was expecting Dillingham to make much movement with such little time left in the 2023 recruiting cycle. That stated, a gem fell into his lap in search for a home as National Signing Day neared. On February 1st, Rashada announced his commitment to Arizona State after an unofficial visit.
Even after taking a visit to runner-ups TCU, Rashada decided to stay closer to home and help a program who hasn't been in the AP Top 15 since 2015. Dillingham helped revive the career of Bo Nix in Eugene this past year, and will look to work his magic on another top recruit.
At the end of the day, Rashada has had a rough experience with CFB and he hasn't even enrolled yet. Rashada's father Harlen appeared to be heavily invested in his son's NIL compensation, which is believed to have played a big factor in his de-commitments.
However, Rashada learned a life lesson the hard way these past couple of months. He's gone from being a millionaire before even finishing college to now having a chip on his shoulder at ASU.
NIL is truly a wild world, and has changed the recruiting world indefinitely. Rashada thought he'd been in a bidding war between both schools, but the cards did not play in his favor. Only time will tell if Rashada is able to make the money that he was once promised. But for now, Rashada's story tops the list as one of the most interesting college football has ever seen.
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You can find Liam on Twitter @theleftyliam where he shares news on University of Miami basketball and football as well as opinions