Quarterback prospect Jalen Rashada going to the Miami Hurricanes is notable for multiple reasons.
One reason is that a quarterback who played high school football in Brentwood and Pittsburg, Calif., has left the Pac-12 footprint and chosen to play in a different part of the United States. The Pac-12 is having a hard time keeping players who grow up in its footprint. Spencer Rattler (Arizona) going to Oklahoma and then transferring to South Carolina is another relevant example from recent years.
Yet, that’s not the biggest reason people are talking about Rashada.
It’s the money.
“It’s the economy, stupid,” to quote a familiar phrase from presidential politics.
Over the weekend, On3 Sports reported that Rashada’s commitment to Miami was made possible by a $9.5 million deal from a UM mega-booster.
Our friends at Ducks Wire picked up the story:
Those schools were willing to drop the bag, and Rashada was happy to accept.
After Rashada, the No. 5-ranked QB in the 2023 class, announced his commitment to Miami, joining Mario Cristobal and his staff, a new report came out that Rashada signed a NIL deal worth $9.5 million.
Think that’s not crazy? Consider the fact that it’s also being reported that the $9.5 million wasn’t even Rashada’s highest offer and that the Gators may have offered $11 million.
If you want to connect the dots, it seems like the Ducks may not have wanted to get into a bidding war for Rashada and be asked to shell out that sort of cash upfront.
No shame to either Miami or Florida. Cristobal obviously liked what he saw in Rashada and did what he could in order to land his new QB. Here’s to hoping that he lives up to the hype of signing a multi-million dollar deal before taking a single snap at the college level.
We are definitely going to discuss this story over the next several days. Trust us.
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