This whole thing is just pretty crazy and it seems like maybe the Florida NIL realized that Rashada isn't worth that money they initially offered. I still am not exactly sure of the details other than the $13 million, but I would assume that is spread out over 4 years (that is the only way this would make any sense). That would make the payments as $3.25 million/year for the #7 QB, #56 player nationally, and he is a 4*.
For some comparison, below are the QBs ranked in the top 100 of the 247 composite rankings from 2020 and 2021. There were 7 QBs in the top 100 in 2020, and 14 in 2021. I didn't include 2022, since most have not played yet other than Klubnik. And, I didn't include prior to 2019 because for some reason the 247 rankings wouldn't let me sort by QBs prior to 2020.
Out of the 21 players below, there are really only 3-4 that would've been worth that $3.25 million (Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Caleb Williams, and probably Quinn Ewers), and another 3-4 worth still a substantial amount (DJ Uiagalelei, JJ McCarthy, Drake Maye, and Jaxson Dart).
13 of the QBs have pretty much never played, been backups, switched positions (only 1), or gotten injured. It is still quite possible that some of them could be great QBs, but in the era of the transfer portal, the only high school recruits who should be drawing that top dollar are basically can't miss/almost guaranteed day 1 starters. Maybe Rashada is that type of recruit in Florida's eyes, but based on a small sample size, it seems like they were drastically overpaying for a recruit.
**Edit to add: The other option would be to never agree to a 4 year deal. You could pay Rashada the $3.25 million for year 1 (similar to a rookie contract in the NFL) and then see what happens. That could end up giving both sides negotiating power in year 2 and beyond, but it could save some money up front... If Rashada has a good year 1, maybe he will ask for more or decide to transfer. If he has a bad year 1, then Florida can reassess to see how much money they think he would be worth going forward. I just can't understand agreeing to a contract for $13 million for a kid who has never played a college snap at a position with a ton of misses.
**Edit 2: $13 million over 4 years would end up making Rashada more money than the 28th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Devonte Wyatt was selected 28th overall and his 4 year earnings projection (with a signing bonus) is $12.8 million.
Player | Year | National | Position | Stars | School | Career |
*Bryce Young | 2020 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Alabama | 8000+ yards, 80 TD: 12 INT, 23-4 as a starter |
-DJ Uiagalelei | 2020 | 10 | 2 | 5 | Clemson | 5600+ yards, 36 TD: 17 INT, 22-6 as a starter, transferred to Oregon State 2023 |
*CJ Stroud | 2020 | 42 | 3 | 4 | Ohio State | 8000+ yards, 85 TD: 12 INT, 21-3 as a starter |
Hudson Card | 2020 | 59 | 4 | 4 | Texas | 1500+ yards, 11 TD: 2 INT, transferred to Purdue 2023 |
Ja'Quinden Jackson | 2020 | 73 | 5 | 4 | Texas | Transferred to Utah 2021, Switched position to RB |
Luke Doty | 2020 | 86 | 6 | 4 | South Carolina | 1500+ yards, 9 TD: 8 INT, mostly backup duty/injuries |
Harrison Bailey | 2020 | 99 | 7 | 4 | Tennessee | 900 yards, 6 TD: 3 INT, transferred to UNLV 2022 |
-Quinn Ewers | 2021 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Ohio State | 2100+ yards, 15 TD, 6 INT, 6-4 as a starter |
*Caleb Williams | 2021 | 7 | 2 | 5 | Oklahoma | 6400+ yards, 63 TD: 9 INT, transferred to USC 2022, 16-4 as a starter |
Sam Huard | 2021 | 12 | 3 | 5 | Washington | 250 yards, 1 TD: 4 INT, transferring |
Brock Vandagriff | 2021 | 17 | 4 | 5 | Georgia | Never played, backup at Georgia |
*JJ McCarthy | 2021 | 25 | 5 | 5 | Michigan | 3200+ yards, 27 TD, 7 INT, 12-1 as a starter |
Kyle McCord | 2021 | 28 | 6 | 5 | Ohio State | 600 yards, 3 TD: 2 INT, backup to CJ Stroud |
Ty Thompson | 2021 | 40 | 7 | 4 | Oregon | 150 yards, 2 TD: 3 INT, backup to Bo Nix |
Jake Garcia | 2021 | 48 | 8 | 4 | Miami | 950 yards, 7 TD: 4 INT, mostly backup duty |
*Drake Maye | 2021 | 56 | 9 | 4 | North Carolina | 4400+ yards, 39 TD, 7 INT, 9-5 as a starter |
-Jaxson Dart | 2021 | 69 | 10 | 4 | USC | 4300+ yards, 29 TD: 16 INT, transferred to Ole Miss 2022, 8-6 as a starter |
Tyler Buchner | 2021 | 71 | 11 | 4 | Notre Dame | 950 yards, 6 TD: 8 INT, began season as starter before injury, will probably be a backup |
Miller Moss | 2021 | 76 | 12 | 4 | USC | 230 yards, 2 TD: 0 INT, backup to Caleb Williams |
Jalen Milroe | 2021 | 82 | 13 | 4 | Alabama | 330 yards, 6 TD: 3 INT, backup to Bryce Young |
Garrett Nussmeier | 2021 | 84 | 14 | 4 | LSU | 1100+ yards, 7 TD: 6 INT, backup to Jayden Daniels |