Making sense of the Jaden Rashada Saga... if that's even possible

At the end of the 2008 Coen brothers film Burn After Reading, a CIA officer named Palmer is sitting in the office of his superior, summing up for his boss and the audience everything that occurred in the 90 minutes prior. The events of the plot don't really matter, both in the context of this article and within the film itself. It's all a farce, where one character finds what they assume to be a piece of intelligence valuable to the US government, and then someone else assumes, and then someone else assumes... only, at the center of this twisted web, there's nothing really of value to anyone at all.

"What did we learn, Palmer?" the CIA boss asks.

"I don't know, sir," Palmer replies.

"I don't f---king know, either. I guess we learned not to do it again."

"Yes, sir."

"What the f--- do I know what we did."

"Yes, sir. It's hard to say."

And... that's the end of the movie. You leave the movie not understanding what you just watched, and even if you did understand it, not knowing the meaning of it anyway. And that's the point. 

I have to imagine a similar conversation played out in Billy Napier's office this week.

On Friday, multiple outlets reported Florida released 4-star quarterback Jaden Rashada from his National Letter of Intent, ending his Gators "career" two months after committing to the program, a move that, in retrospect, seemed inevitable. 

Let's backup and walk through the major events of the timeline.

June 26, 2022: Rashada commits to Miami, less than a week after officially visiting the Hurricanes. The Pittsburg, Calif., native is rated the No. 7 quarterback and the No. 59 overall player in the class of 2023, via the 247 composite. On3 reports Rashada turned down an $11 million NIL offer from Florida's Gator Collective to accept a $9.5 million offer from Miami superbooster John Ruiz.

Nov. 10: Rashada flips from Miami to Florida. The flip reportedly comes after Rashada agreed to terms on a $13 million deal with Gator Collective. “I would venture to say the Gator Collective is paying more guaranteed money than any group in the country," Gator Collective CEO Eddie Rojas said in April, via The Athletic. "When I write a contract, I want to make sure that we actually have the money in our account.”

Dec. 21: Florida announces a 21-man signing class that does not include Rashada. Billy Napier's press conference an hour as the Florida head coach reportedly waited on Rashada's NLI to reach the Florida football fax machines. The final entry of Florida's signing day live blog, at 1:28 p.m., does not mention Rashada. At the (delayed) press conference, Florida staff distributes a paper copy of the 2023 class that includes Rashada. 

Dec. 22: Florida announces Rashada.

Jan. 3: Rashada is among a collection of Gator signees participating in the Under Armour All-American game. 

"Can't compliment Jaden enough relative to who he is as a person, as a leader, his character," Napier said. "He had a fantastic senior year, made a huge playoff run. Came up a little short in the state title there, but just phenomenal run there as a senior. That's always a good sign, I think.

"The ball really jumps out of his hand. He's a junkie. He loves the game. He's all about the work. I think he's got a good sturdy frame that we can add weight to. Just been very impressed with his approach."

Jan. 9: Spring classes begin at Florida. Rashada does not attend.

Jan. 11: On3 reports Rashada has asked for his release. Rashada's father, former Arizona State defensive back Harlen Rashada, refutes this.

Jan. 13: The final day of spring registration passes without Rashada enrolling in school.

Jan. 17: Multiple outlets report Rashada has asked for his release.

Jan. 20: The Associated Press reports Florida has granted Rashada his release.

Now, it should be noted that Rojas and the Gator Collective reportedly terminated the $13 million deal before Rashada signed with Florida. The Athletic reports it happened on Dec. 7. From their report: There are conflicting accounts about why the deal crumbled and who pledged to pay what. Multiple conversations ensue between donors and athletic department members, including Castro-Walker and Stricklin. Some within the administration are only now getting up to speed on what was promised — the program aiming to keep these third-party NIL dealings at arm’s length. Yet these conversations ultimately focus on finding contingencies for keeping the class’ highest-profile recruit in the fold.

It should be noted that Florida has two collectives: Gator Collective and Gator Guard. The former attempts to be a forward-facing, crowd-funded effort, where fans pay Gator athletes to make appearances with Gator fans. The latter is similar to Texas A&M's The Fund and others, where high-net-worth Gator alums pool their resources to, for lack of a better term, drop bags. Perhaps there was a miscommunication between the two collectives. It was reported that after the $13 million "deal" fell through, the Gator Collective came back with a deal that, while not $13 million, still topped seven figures. 

What is clear is that everyone involved should've known better. 

The Gator Collective offered (I should say "offered") a contract ("contract") that was greater in value than some first-round NFL draft picks. Rashada's "deal" put him on par with the reported NIL value of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.

According to The Athletic, the Rashadas assured the Florida staff on their June official visit that Jaden was not using the recruiting process to leverage the biggest NIL deal. "There’s a misconception about us out there," Harlen Rashada said, according to the site. 

“I’m all for NIL and players getting rewarded,” an ACC assistant told On3. “But come on, no player, let alone an unproven high school quarterback – even if he is a four-star and a top-10 guy at his position – is worth that much. He’s not won a single college football game.”

Having said that, no one has offered me a $13 million contract and then taken it away, let alone when I was a senior in high school, and it's safe to say no one offered you such a sum, either. So all criticism of Jaden and the Rashadas should at least be tempered by that reality.

So, where does this go from here? It's hard to say. Rashada will presumably spend the spring back home in California, training and finding a suitable college home. That's probably a good thing, for Rashada and for Florida. Most expect him to stick closer to home, hopefully wisened and humbled by his experience. Here's hoping he chooses the school that will best allow his immense talents to flourish, a place where he fits both with the coaching staff and the university itself. Washington and Arizona State seem to be popular picks among the recruiting experts. 

It's hard to criticize Napier and the Florida staff, given that the one NIL rule the NCAA has is that coaching staffs are not supposed to discuss dollars and deals with recruits. There assuredly could've been better communication between Florida and the collectives that, at least in theory, exist to benefit the programs they supposedly represent. Then again, it's unlikely Rashada ever would've committed to Florida in the first place without the promise of that $13 million "deal."

At the end of the day, the Jaden Rashada saga is the greatest example yet of the upside-down limbo in which college football exists. Everyone knows schools generate billions of dollars through college football, that college football would not exist without its players, that players deserve to profit off their talents, yet the schools keep all the money and players are left to hustle on the side in partnership with third-parties, who may or may not be legit. Everyone knows coaches did not get into the profession to become agents and salary cap managers, yet they're the ones ultimately held responsible for what their donors do or don't do. 

Sounds like great fodder for a Coen brothers movie.