By: Jonathan Karas
October 25, 2024
Photo Credit: Review Journal
Everyone knew this college football season would look different. With new conference realignment, continued transfer portal madness, an expanded 12-team playoff, and teams with the ability to host playoff games, the biggest story remains the new Name, Image, and Likeness rules in place for college sports. While the new rules are amazing for student-athletes, finally being able to be financially compensated for all they do on the field, the rough underbelly of these changes is already starting to come to light.
Enter Matthew Sluka, UNLV’s dynamic dual-threat senior Quarterback who transferred in from Holy Cross this season. Sluka is one year removed from winning the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year award after totaling 1,200+ rushing and passing yards and 29 touchdowns. With the new portal rules in place, Sluka decided to transfer to UNLV for a chance to prove himself against higher competition, have a shot to make the College Football Playoff with the expanded field, and…the money. After leading UNLV to a 3-0 start this season that saw the team achieve its highest AP ranking in school history (#23), Sluka abruptly announced he would be leaving the team heading into Week 4 against Fresno State.
Why?
Sluka was verbally assured $100,000 to come to UNLV via the transfer portal by the team’s offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, according to Sluka’s agent Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports. Not only was Sluka promised this money without receiving it, but his former Head Coach from Holy Cross, Bob Chesney has also come out and said that Sluka actually turned down money in the ballpark of $350,000-$600,000 from other Power 4 schools in order to honor his initial commitment to UNLV (ESPN, Max Olson). While Sluka was verbally promised this money, there was never a signed contract between him and the school’s NIL collective fund. According to Bob Sluka, Matthew’s father, they reached out to the school multiple times over the past few months and kept getting their questions kicked down the road. Eventually, UNLV told Sluka’s camp that the best they could do was $3,000 a month for the rest of the season, take it or leave it. Sluka left it. (The Athletic, David Ubben)
Following the Sluka debacle in Vegas, NCAA President Charlie Baker released a statement about the growing dysfunction of collegiate NIL today with hollow promises being made to the student athletes, “Just as anyone that owns stock or buys a house is afforded basic consumer protections, it's clear that student-athletes entering NIL contracts should be too.” He also offered some hope for the future in terms of this issue, stating “we’re continuing to advocate for Congress to create national NIL guidelines that will protect student-athletes from exploitation, including the use of standard contracts.”
With NIL still so fresh and new in collegiate sports, there are bound to be more issues that will arise in the coming months and years. Evidently from this situation, and more certainly to come, it is going to require real collaboration between the NCAA, its players, and the government to ensure that NIL is the positive outcome that the players have deserved for years. It remains clear that while these new laws are a great thing for student-athletes, players will continue to be exploited if they are not careful with the promises they make, even with financial compensation now on the table.
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