After Florida football's black eye from Jaden Rashada NIL saga, rally the lawyers | Toppmeyer

They used to say a left tackle is a quarterback’s best friend. Now, a prized quarterback’s best friend ought to be armed with a juris doctorate and dressed in a Brooks Brothers suit.

Blue-chip recruits need help from competent contract attorneys. That was my first takeaway after reading The Athletic's well-reported story this week that detailed how Florida’s recruitment of four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada unraveled after an NIL deal gone wrong.

Rashada, The Athletic reported, inked a four-year deal worth $13.85 million with the Gator Collective, Florida’s third-party NIL arm. That averaged to an annual figure of $3.46 million for the top-100 prospect from California who ranks behind Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava, Texas' Arch Manning and others in the 2023 recruiting rankings. Those millions would be in exchange for Rashada's nominal NIL services, like public appearances, autographs and social media posts.

Good deal if you can get it, right?

One problem: The contract, according to The Athletic, stated that the collective, in its sole discretion, could terminate the deal “without penalty or further obligation.”

That’s legalese for: What’s written in this document means diddly-doo.

TOPPMEYER:Nick Saban waves no magic wand. See Alabama football's coordinator hires

ADAMS:How I think Tennessee football quarterback competition goes for Joe Milton, Nico Iamaleava

JADEN RASHADA SAGA:Florida coach Billy Napier doesn't expect to hear from NCAA after NIL deal gone wrong

I don’t know whether Rashada and his deal-seeking father realized that – a California lawyer helped negotiate Rashada’s deal, The Athletic reported – but they learned the hard way when Florida’s collective stiffed Rashada.

Rashada then asked out of his national letter of intent and signed with Arizona State.

Subscribe to SEC Football Unfiltered
iTunes | Google Play | Spotify

This became a tough life lesson for a teenage prospect – beware the fine print – and a black eye for the Gators.

Why should other top-tier prospects eagerly jump on board with Florida after it played the pauper? Monopoly Money U. isn’t a brand the Gators should want to embrace.

My other reaction to the story: $3.46 million annually for a star quarterback sounds like a bargain.

I suspect many coaches, administrators and fans don't share that opinion. More likely, they think: Florida's boosters promised to pay him how much?!

As recently as two years ago, athletes could not profit off endorsements or receive remuneration beyond tuition, room and board and a stipend. That changed in 2021 after court rulings and state legislation strong-armed the NCAA into altering its NIL rules.

Fair-market NIL value has since been an ongoing debate, but considering what a star quarterback means to an enterprise that hauls in nine figures annually in revenue, you may understand why I consider $3.46 million a bargain.

If Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is worth $9 million per year, then a star quarterback should be worth at least half as much.

Power Five coordinator salaries are creeping toward $2 million. I’d rather have a star quarterback than a $2 million coordinator, if forced to choose one at that price. No amount of scheming will turn Benny Benchwarmer into Johnny All-Star. Of course, schools aren't required to choose. Coaches strike university contracts, while fans and boosters foot the NIL bill.

And some boosters are eager to buy the next elite quarterback. Tennessee's collective reportedly struck an NIL deal with Iamaleava worth up to $8 million.

Outlandish? That depends.

Consider LSU’s 2019 national championship team. Ed Orgeron was paid $4 million as LSU's coach in what was then considered a discount before his salary more than doubled following that season. Joe Burrow quarterbacked the Tigers to greatness and won the Heisman Trophy in the pre-NIL era.

If I told you that you could have Orgeron for $4 million as your college team’s coach for a season or a year of Burrow for that price, on whom would you spend the money? Easy choice. Pay the guy slinging passes for 5,671 yards.

I’ve thus far neglected an important caveat, though.

While doling out $3.5 million a year in booster dollars for a star college quarterback seems fair compensation, you better be dang sure the quarterback is, in fact, a star.

And that’s why this Rashada deal looks as screwy as a Florida snowfall.

[ WANT MORE OPINIONS FROM BLAKE TOPPMEYER? Sign up for the SEC Unfiltered newsletter for exclusive columns delivered straight to your inbox ]

Certainly, he was a coveted prospect with a strong arm, and Florida flipped his commitment from Miami. But, a four-star teenager who has never read an SEC defense or completed a slant pass on third-and-6 inside the din of Neyland Stadium is no proven commodity.

NIL deals are not typically made public, but if reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is not being compensated with a few million bucks for signing some autographs and making a few appearances as Southern California’s junior quarterback, then he should fire his representation.

The same is true for North Carolina's Drake Maye.

Those are proven stars with transformative effect on a team.

Pledging such a deal for a recruit reeks of desperate booster spending. Perhaps, the boosters bought a future Heisman Trophy winner. Or, they might have purchased a bust.

Each of the major recruiting services ranks Rashada as a four-star, and even a five-star rating affords no assurance.

From 2010-20, the 247Sports Composite ranked 23 quarterbacks as five-star prospects. Seven became stars: Braxton Miller, Jameis Winston, Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Bryce Young. Three – Winston, Murray and Young – won a Heisman Trophy.

Several more of those 23 five-star recruits became good quarterbacks, including Bo Nix and Spencer Rattler, who remain in college with a chance to finish with a flourish.

That leaves 10 of the 23, though, whom I rate as either delivering an average career or becoming a bust. I might be grading a tad harshly, so let’s call it a clean 40% chance that a five-star quarterback either flops or has an average career.

Viewed that way, a four-year deal worth nearly $14 million looks mighty risky for an unproven recruit.

At least, it would be, if the offer were contractually binding.

That’s where the lawyers come into play.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Jaden Rashada NIL saga with Florida football shows recruits need ally