I read this summary blurb in today’s email from “The Athletic”. It is so clear that college sports have been turned upside down and a small school like Rice with an academic mission will not be able to compete with the Power schools/Conferences. Below is the summary:

What's going on at Florida?

In case you missed it, we’re breaking down one of the wilder stories of the NIL era: The curious case of Jaden Rashada. The four-star quarterback signee is in “purgatory,” G. Allen Taylor writes, as the school works to fix an NIL indiscretion. A quick-ish recap:

June 26, 2022: Rashada commits to Miami.

Nov. 10: Rashada and a Florida donor collective agree on an NIL deal exceeding $13 million, and he flips his commitment to the Gators.

Dec. 7: The collective’s CEO sends a termination letter regarding the contract, Taylor reports. There are conflicting accounts about why the deal crumbled and who pledged to pay what.

Dec. 21: Coach Billy Napier’s national signing day news conference is delayed 67 minutes. Rashada’s name, initially missing from the list of signees, is added at the last minute.

Dec. 29-Jan. 3: Rashada and his family make glowing comments about Napier and indicate the recruit plans to enroll early.

Jan. 10: He doesn’t.

One of Taylor’s sources says Rashada won’t be enrolling at Florida. There’s also the potential for litigation, hinging upon whether the November contract is binding. Florida collectives are offering a lesser deal (still above seven figures) — with the caveat that Rashada releases everyone from all previous claims.

It's sick. Apparently, the collective informed an athletics department official about the amount they offered Rashada, which is technically against the law. I'm certain there are football recruiting coordinators and coaches all over the nation illegally collaborating with their respective 'collectives.'

I hope this all gets so bad that it backfires on everyone, and brings about change in the opposite direction. Rice has no chance of landing anyone 'valued' at such a high price, but it will be competing against 'like-minded' institutions in the P5 that have collectives of there own.

(01-15-2023 02:42 PM)Ourland Wrote:  It's sick. Apparently, the collective informed an athletics department official about the amount they offered Rashada, which is technically against the law. I'm certain there are football recruiting coordinators and coaches all over the nation illegally collaborating with their respective 'collectives.'

I hope this all gets so bad that it backfires on everyone, and brings about change in the opposite direction. Rice has no chance of landing anyone 'valued' at such a high price, but it will be competing against 'like-minded' institutions in the P5 that have collectives of there own.

Best combination happening :

a) Florida has gone over the line and gets some sort of sanction;
b) collective gets popped for a breach of contract suit for the full amount;
c) athlete sits in limbo.

Wonder if the IRS will get involved.

17-year old kids getting indoctrinated on how shrewd (bad?) business gets done without much legal advice or expertise for the kid and his/her family.

This story is at the high-end of egregious things but have heard many more six and seven figure deals get contracts voided by all kinds of reps, warranties, termination for convenience clauses, signing party indemnified from claims, etc. Bad boosters/collectives get a kid to a place based upon a headline $ figure and other promises but those $ are not 100% guaranteed or honored...especially if the kid gets hurt or is not contributing to W's. Legally accurate, but morally bankrupt. Many stories don't make it to the public eye given the ego/embarrassment on the part of the athlete who got screwed.

And of course as mentioned above, nobody is talking about the IRS side of things.