Overview
- Court documents state the case was formally settled Tuesday after a mediation report was filed, with terms not disclosed.
- A Feb. 10 mediation preceded the agreement, and Billy Napier—now James Madison’s coach—had traveled for a deposition as a July trial approached.
- Filed in 2024 in federal court in Pensacola, the suit named Napier, booster Hugh Hathcock, Velocity Automotive, and former staffer Marcus Castro-Walker.
- The complaint alleged a collapsed four-year, $13.85 million NIL arrangement tied to the Gator Collective, including that Napier promised $1 million on signing day.
- The NCAA opened a Florida recruitment inquiry in 2023 but later paused probes into booster-backed NIL deals after a federal injunction; the Gator Collective has since disbanded.