Tag: Gator Collective

Florida WR Ricky Pearsall inks deal with Gator Collective

Ricky Pearsall is back in the Swamp for another year and the Gator Collective is taking care of him.

One of the biggest decisions of Florida’s offseason came from wide receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] when he decided to pass on the NFL for another year and return to the Swamp.

Part of that decision was financial. Players can now make comparable money in college to what a late-round pick might receive, and it’s kept underclassmen from declaring early for the most part. Pearsall inked a deal with the Gator Collective this week, according to Gators Online, and it’s hard to imagine that name, image and likeness compensation didn’t play a factor when it came time to decide.

Pearsall’s deal comes at a time that he’s expected to take over as the primary receiver at Florida. [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] is off to the NFL and [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] is the only returning receiver with significant playing time under his belt. Pearsall could be a star in the slot for whichever quarterback Florida ends up with as the starter in 2023.

The Gator Collective has focused heavily on compensating current Gators rather than incoming players, and Pearsall’s numbers warrant the increased attention he’s getting. He led the team in 2022 with 661 yards and five touchdowns and finished second with 33 receptions.

His NIL deal with the Gator Collective wasn’t the only reason Pearsall came back, but it certainly made the decision easier.

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Florida’s top QB target picks Miami, NIL conversation sparked

Jaden Rashada is going to Miami, but the news didn’t come without drama.

The Florida Gators came close to landing four-star California quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], but the top-50 recruit chose the University of Miami on Sunday afternoon when he announced his college decision on CBS Sports HQ.

He chose between Florida, Miami, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, but the two Sunshine State schools were the two hottest programs near the end. He wrapped up official visits on June 7 after stopping by the Swamp, but he was able to make it to UM after pushing back his announcement from June 18 to June 26.

Coming out of the trip to Coral Gables, projections in favor of Miami began to pour in. Most were cast with medium confidence but Rashada was already locked in on the U. It’s a tough pill to swallow for most of Gator Nation, but this commitment has sparked some interesting drama.

 

On3 reported that California lawyer Michael Caspino represented Rashada in “NIL negotiations with collectives across the country,” and that the four-star quarterback had secured a $9.5 million deal with Miami booster John Ruiz. The Miami booster claimed that the report was inaccurate in a statement on social media.

Caspino told On3 that “Florida is the most dysfunctional collective in all of college football,” and said that Rashada would likely have been at Florida had it not been for the Gator Collective.

“Jaden left millions on the table,” Caspino said. “Millions. He did not pick the highest offer. He went there because he loves Miami, the coaches, and the opportunity.”

However, the Gator Collective responded to those comments on Sunday night and said that it never met with Caspino regarding Rashada before accusing him of putting athletes at risk with his negotiation tactics.

Whether those numbers are accurate is in question now, and Caspino’s name seems to be better known overnight for the wrong reasons. Still, he’s involved with plenty of high-profile players such as Rashada and his comments against the GC will hold some weight.

Regardless of the drama that surrounded the decision, Rashada is going to be a ‘Cane. Miami and Mario Cristobal got an important win over Billy Napier and the Gators, and Florida may have to turn to the transfer portal to fill a quarterback slot in 2023 after missing out on most of the top prep names.

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Gator Collective hosts fan event to boost NIL’s public image

Florida fans got their first taste of the Gator Collective.

On Wednesday, Gator Collective hosted their first (and hopefully annual) Fan Fest, an event that included opportunities to interact with over 40 of the university’s athletes. It was held at Touchdown Terrace in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and over 200 fans came for the three-hour event. Aside from the obvious appeal of meeting their favorite players, the event was held in an effort to raise fans’ awareness of the positive impact of name, image, and likeness laws.

NIL can be confusing and incites a lot of strong feelings, but the Gator Collective is helping to navigate those choppy waters. It supplements benefactor support with contributions from the fanbase to connect Florida athletes with NIL opportunities.

“Fan donations toward the Gator Collective allow athletes to earn compensation in exchange for exclusive content and experiences with UF athletes for those fans, such as last Saturday’s event,” explained On3’s Zach Abolverdi.

Gator Collective is best-known for their splashier moves, such as the “very lucrative” package they put together to persuade [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] to return for a third season at Florida.

However, arranging for paid appearances like Wednesday’s event is a way to appeal to current athletes to stay with the Gators. It’s about as subtle as your uncle’s Facebook board, but putting money in the hands of players already enrolled at Florida is important for the health of the program. Furthermore, it could be easy for it to fall through the cracks when so much of the media is obsessed with player acquisition.

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Florida football trying to make up deficit in NIL space

How is Florida and head coach BIlly Napier faring in the name, image and likeness space?

It felt like Florida was simply outbid when former Maryland defensive lineman Darrell Jackson elected to transfer to Miami over the Gators. He tagged the company LifeWallet when he made his announcement, which is owned by the Hurricanes’ billionaire booster John Ruiz that has given name, image and likeness deals to players, as well as potential transfers and recruits. It made fans ponder about how Florida is faring in the NIL space?

Head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] told boosters after his national signing day press conference that he needed $20 million to field a contending SEC roster, according to The Athletic.

To help reach that number, Eddie Rojas has established the Gator Collective which allows Florida fans to contribute to a player’s NIL. Fans can make pledges as low as $5.99 a month. After being founded last August, the Gator Collective has collected over 2,200 subscribers and has raised more than $500,000. However, it’s still a long way away from that $20 million figure.

Hugh Hathcock has helped Napier and Florida make up a significant amount of that deficit. He started the Gator Guard which is the same thing as the Gator Collective but is an exclusive club for high net-worth Gators. Within 48 hours, the Gator Guard has produced commitments worth $5 million.

However, Napier doesn’t want those funds to be used just for landing more talented transfers and recruits since college football has sort of turned into free agency. He wants some of it to be spent on current Florida players like quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag].

The Gator Collective has signed 20 football players to five- and sixth-month deals while compensating 60 more.

Florida is not at that $20 million mark, but it is slowly getting there.

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Florida’s student-athletes have plenty of NIL opportunities

Official jerseys were once just a pipe dream. Florida took a major step into making it a reality on Thursday.

Student-athletes can profit off their name image and likeness without penalty for the first time this year, and Florida is looking to capitalize. The Gators partnered with The Brandr Group on Thursday to establish group licensing for student-athletes across all 21 sports.

The partnership means that players can use the school logo in their personal endorsement deals. Three or more athletes from a team or six or more athletes from multiple sports can join the program and TBG will facilitate the licensing.

“The Florida Gators have one of the strongest brands in all of college athletics, and this agreement with The Brandr Group provides great value to our student-athletes in expanding their NIL opportunities,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “This is a win for Florida student-athletes and Gators fans, who will be able to represent their favorite players like never before.”

The big news here for Gators fans is that the door is now open to merchandise with players’ names and numbers. Fans have long desired official team jerseys but only now has that dream become a reality.

Florida fans will have more to look forward to with the launch of the Gator Collective, a fan platform founded by former Gators pitcher Eddie Rojas. The Gator Collective offers fans access to players through interviews and video conferences, and there are plans for raffles and giveaways.

Rojas lived the struggle of a student-athlete and wanted to give back to his school after hearing about the NIL changes.

Five Gators have signed with the Gator Collective: linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, linebacker Diwun Black, defensive end Zachary Carter, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey and tight end Keon Zipperer. While all are on the football team, the goal is to branch out to other sports. The group licensing agreement extending across all sports should help with that.

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