Auburn football beat reporter chastises Florida for role in Jaden Rashada saga
Auburn football beat reporter Justin Lee, the deputy editor at the Opelika-Auburn News, blames Florida for their role in the Jaden Rashada NIL saga that has led to the 4-star recruit de-committing from the Gators program to join Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils.
Rashada reportedly had $13 million in unfulfilled promised funds from Florida’s NIL collectives and spurned the Sunshine State to ride out with the former Auburn football offensive coordinator/quarterback whisperer Dillingham in the desert.
Lee didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Gators in their role in Rashada’s unfulfilled commitment:
Why do I see people clowning on the kid at Florida, and nobody clowning on the suits at the collective who are the ones who put together the dumb offer then also didn't go through with it
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) February 6, 2023
Yeah I'd have agreed to rinse those suckers too. All of you would have
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) February 6, 2023
This was the list of promises Florida failed to deliver to the Pittsburgh, California native per The Athletic (subscription required):
"“-$500,000 up-front payment. Payments would increase from $250,000 a month as a freshman, to $291,666.66 a month as a sophomore, to $375,000 a month as a junior, rounded out with $195,833.33 monthly payments as a senior, so long as he fulfilled the following obligations:-Residence in Gainesville, Fla.-At least one branded Twitter post and one branded Instagram post per month.-Up to 8 fan engagement events per year. These could include in-person appearances, social media engagements, video conferences or interviews. None would last longer than two hours.Autograph up to 15 pieces of merchandise per year.”"
Former Auburn football offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham will be great for Jaden Rashada
Rashada is likely better off in Tempe than he’d be in Gainesville. The former Auburn football/Oregon offensive coordinator Dillingham is likely to tailor his offense to a strong-armed quarterback. He brought out the best of Bo Nix’s arm talent, and Rashada has a more pass-first profile then Nix.
Rashada figures to eventually take over if not in year one for Dillingham in 2023. As for Florida, their quarterback recruiting woes continue in a severely rough PR stretch for the Gators over the last few months.