After main his staff to a 3-0 begin, UNLV beginning quarterback Matthew Sluka introduced late Tuesday night time that he was executed enjoying for the Rebels due to guarantees made round his NIL compensation that weren’t fulfilled.
Sluka, a Holy Cross switch, plans to take a seat out the remainder of the season as a redshirt and reenter the switch portal in December. His sudden choice raises questions in regards to the nature of his monetary settlement with UNLV, how the deal fell aside and who in the end bears accountability for an undefeated staff dropping its prime quarterback.
This is what you must know as this story continues to develop:
Who’s Matthew Sluka?
Sluka joined UNLV this summer season after a adorned profession on the FCS degree at Holy Cross. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior was a three-year starter and two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which fits to the highest offensive participant in FCS. Sluka earned Patriot League Offensive Participant of the Yr honors in 2023 after producing 1,728 passing yards and 1,247 dashing yards with 29 whole touchdowns.
On the finish of the season, Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney and his employees left to take over James Madison and Sluka opted to check his choices within the switch portal. UNLV introduced him in after dropping beginning quarterback Jayden Maiava, the Mountain West Freshman of the Yr, to USC.
After three video games, Sluka led all Mountain West quarterbacks in dashing yards per recreation and had 253 whole dashing yards. He threw for 318 yards with seven whole touchdowns and one turnover whereas main a Rebels offense that ranks fifth in FBS in dashing.
How is UNLV doing this season?
Following a formidable 9-5 debut season, coach Barry Odom has the Rebels within the hunt for a bid within the expanded 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff. UNLV is off to a 3-0 begin with upset wins on the street towards Large 12 packages Houston and Kansas. Sluka powered the staff’s win over the Jayhawks on Sept. 13 with a team-high 124 dashing yards on 19 carries plus 86 passing yards and a landing.
The Rebels rose to No. 23 within the coaches ballot this week after their idle week. UNLV and Boise State have emerged as standard picks to earn a spot within the inaugural expanded playoff. If the Rebels win the Mountain West, they’re going to have a robust probability of incomes the bid.
What we find out about Sluka’s departure
Sluka’s NIL consultant, Marcus Cromartie of Fairness Sports activities, instructed ESPN that Sluka is leaving this system after he was verbally promised a minimal of $100,000 from a UNLV coach and solely acquired $3,000.
His father, Bob Sluka, instructed ESPN they’d a verbal settlement with UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion for what they believed was a “cheap, honest quantity,” even when it was a lot lower than what Energy 4 packages supplied, however funds have been repeatedly delayed and no effort was made to formalize a contract with their collective for that quantity.
After UNLV’s win over Kansas, Bob Sluka stated Odom and Cromartie spoke on Sept. 19 and the pinnacle coach refused to uphold the settlement, as an alternative providing $3,000 for relocation prices and asserting that the provide wasn’t legitimate as a result of it did not come from him. Sluka’s camp contends they by no means went to Odom in search of extra money, solely what they have been promised up entrance. Marion declined to remark to ESPN.
Rob Sine of Blueprint Sports activities, the corporate that manages UNLV’s collective, confirmed to ESPN that Sluka had no deal in writing with the collective and stated the collective wasn’t conscious of any guarantees to pay Sluka $100,000. Sine additionally confirmed that Sluka acquired one $3,000 cost.
In an announcement, UNLV stated Sluka’s representatives made monetary calls for so as to proceed enjoying that its athletic division interpreted as a violation of the NCAA pay-for-play guidelines and Nevada state legislation. “UNLV doesn’t have interaction in such actions, nor does it reply to implied threats,” the varsity stated within the assertion.
How can Sluka go away through the season?
Faculty soccer gamers can not enter the switch portal at the moment, however they’ll go away a program every time they need. The NCAA’s switch portal window doesn’t open till Dec. 9, which is the Monday after convention championship video games. Sluka will be unable to enter his identify into the portal till then and can’t be a part of one other staff to maintain enjoying in 2024.
The choice Sluka made isn’t unusual on the earth of switch recruiting. Yearly, many gamers determine to switch due to disagreements over NIL worth and funds, and there have been a number of cases of gamers reentering the switch portal this spring to hunt extra money from one other faculty.
Monetary points apart, his motivation for leaving now could be to make the most of the four-game redshirt rule and play yet another faculty season in 2025.
What’s the redshirt rule?
Faculty soccer gamers can acquire one further season of eligibility in the event that they play in 4 video games or fewer in a yr and take a redshirt season. The rule was applied in 2018 and is historically supposed for youthful gamers who play restricted snaps as backups. The NCAA is presently contemplating extending that four-game most to exempt convention title, bowl and Faculty Soccer Playoff video games. Sluka performed 4 seasons at Holy Cross and didn’t make the most of a redshirt yr. As a result of he started his profession in 2020 throughout COVID-19, he may make the most of an additional season of eligibility in 2024. By redshirting, he’ll have the ability to play in 2025.
Are NIL disputes like this frequent?
Points like these happen on a regular basis however not often spill out into the general public. Quarterback Jaden Rashada suing Florida coach Billy Napier and others over a failed $13.85 million deal is by far essentially the most distinguished instance of a participant making an attempt to carry a faculty accountable for unfulfilled guarantees, however these points happen regularly in a market the place NIL alternatives can typically be exaggerated through the recruiting course of.
The offers that gamers strike with faculty NIL collectives usually are not binding employment contracts. Gamers and their households or representatives in search of extra money from a collective than was initially agreed upon is commonplace, particularly in the event that they obtain higher gives from different packages. However simply as commonplace are cases of gamers incomes much less cash than they anticipated or have been promised, both verbally or in writing.
“We’re a hardworking household,” Bob Sluka instructed ESPN. “To have the ability to have an athlete like Matt, we do not even actually care that a lot in regards to the cash. However there’s a precept to it. He isn’t the primary athlete to have this occur. We have heard it from one million children that they do not get their cash. So perhaps Matt must be the poster boy, however we do not need him to. However we’re not going to have Barry Odom simply get up and say, ‘F you, I am not paying you, get your ass out on the sphere.'”
What does this say in regards to the state and way forward for NIL?
Sluka’s departure from UNLV highlights a troubling subject for all events at a time when the principles round participant compensation are about to dramatically change.
If authorised, the Home v. NCAA antitrust settlement will carry on a brand new period of income sharing in faculty athletics starting in 2025-26. Faculties will have the ability to immediately pay their athletes by way of NIL offers as much as a restrict, anticipated to be between $20 and $23 million per faculty subsequent yr with annual will increase.
That settlement is presently on maintain after Decide Claudia Wilken declined to grant preliminary approval on Sept. 5 and ordered attorneys to “return to the drafting board” relating to restrictions round third-party NIL funds from collectives.
On this means of modernizing faculty athletics, the NCAA has lengthy opposed transferring towards a mannequin that deems its athletes staff of their faculty and has spent a number of years lobbying Congress for assist with federal legislature to forestall athletes from being thought of staff.
What’s subsequent for UNLV?
The Rebels will transfer ahead with seniors Hajj-Malik Williams and Cameron Friel as their prime choices at quarterback as they enter Mountain West convention play on Saturday towards Fresno State.
Williams, an FCS switch from Campbell, has appeared in two video games this season and rushed for 88 yards on 10 carries throughout UNLV’s 72-14 blowout win over Utah Tech. He turned Campbell’s all-time main passer with 8,236 yards and 58 touchdowns over his 5 seasons in this system. Friel has earned 10 begins for the Rebels over the previous two seasons.
Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.