GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 12: Florida Gators commit Jaden Rashada looks on during the second half of a game between the Florida Gators and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida.
When college football’s traditional winter signing period opens Wednesday, among the unsigned blue-chippers will be Jaden Rashada. The four-star quarterback from California signed with Florida in December, but asked for and was granted his release after an endorsement agreement with a collective that was potentially worth more than $13 million fell through.
The NCAA lifted a ban on athletes cashing in on their fame in 2021. While the association still has rules in place that make it impermissible to use NIL as a recruiting inducement, patchwork state laws and the fear of legal challenges have prevented the NCAA from putting detailed, uniform regulations in place.
" The coaches that are well coached on NIL say things like this, ‘I can’t promise you anything. But what I can share is that a player that is in your position on our campus is currently receiving X-Y-Z,’” Lawrence said. He said the difference in recruiting pitches that fall inside and outside the rules comes down to semantics. Ideally, schools would be directly involved with NIL deals instead of having an outside entity with little accountability representing its interests.
Lawrence also said the reality behind the rhetoric is that most collectives are not funded well enough to meet the demand for NIL deals.