Analysis: UNLV QB to sit out following NIL dispute

Nevada-Las Vegas, long an afterthought in college football, has been on the upswing lately. After 18 losing seasons in 19 years from 2005 through 2022, the Rebels went 9-5 last year and played in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, their first bowl appearance since 2013.

This year, the Rebels are 3-0 with victories over Big 12 members Houston and Kansas. They’re ranked No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll — their first poll appearance in program history — and have received votes in the AP Top 25. And there’s even talk that the Rebels could end up in the 12-team College Football Playoff if they win the Mountain West and are ranked among the top five conference champions.

The back story makes the news that broke late Tuesday all the more stunning.

Matthew Sluka, UNLV’s starting quarterback, quit the team, citing verbal promises of name, image and likeness (NIL) money he believes were not kept.

“I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this season,” Sluka posted on the X platform. “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future.”

Sluka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie, told On3.com that Sluka, as a graduate transfer from Holy Cross, was promised by an unnamed assistant coach that he’d receive between $100,000 and $150,000 in NIL funds. Sluka’s father, Bob Sluka, told ESPN his son has received only a $3,000 relocation fee.

Blueprint Sports, which manages Friends of UNLV, the school’s NIL collective, issued a statement Wednesday saying that there were no formal NIL offers made to Sluka during his recruitment. In addition, Friends of UNLV said it did not finalize or agree to any NIL offers when Sluka was with the team.

The UNLV athletic department also released a statement that said Sluka’s personal representative made financial demands to the department and the collective in order to keep playing. The department said it considered that a pay-for-play situation, which would violate NCAA rules. “UNLV does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to implied threats,” the statement said.

Looks like somebody’s not telling the truth, and you can choose who you want to believe.

If Sluka was promised the money and didn’t get paid, his reaction is understandable. He’s asked for payments that haven’t come, so his answer is to withhold his services. Still, he didn’t have a signed contract, and we know that verbal agreements aren’t worth the paper they’re not written on.

Derek Burns, co-founder and president of Dinkytown Athletes, the University of Minnesota’s official NIL collective, didn’t know all the details of the UNLV situation and didn’t want to comment on it. In general, though, he explained how his collective aims to avoid such conflicts.

“Dinkytown Athletes writes contracts for athletes based on what we have,” he said. “When the player signs that contract, we pay out based on exactly what’s in the contract. We’re purposeful about that so there is no ambiguity.”

Burns wasn’t surprised that not all promises are met in college athletics.

“We have heard anecdotes about other collectives that offer contracts verbally or otherwise on money they do not have,” Burns said. “… We’ve definitely stayed away from that because, No. 1, it’s not the right thing to do as a business. And, No. 2, it’s not fair to the athletes.”

Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer knows Sluka from his days at New Hampshire and he hopes for the best for him.

“It’s interesting in how college football is shaping right now,” Brosmer said. “That’s the first move like that, and I’m interested to see how it shakes out.”