Not many people leave Las Vegas with more money than they brought with them. That is especially true if you are under 21 years old.
UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka will leave Las Vegas after leading the Rebels to a 3-0 undefeated start.
On Wednesday morning, Sluka released a statement on social media explaining that he will stay for the rest of the season.
“I committed to UNLV based on certain actions that were presented to me, which were not maintained after enrollment,” said Sluka. “Despite the discussions, it was clear that these commitments will not be fulfilled in the future.”
College football analyst Carl Reed Jr. reported that despite this statement, Sluka’s financial obligations were met by the university. However, after big wins against Houston and Kansas, his family hired an agent and felt that his market value had increased.
Welcome to the world we live in.
Reports on Wednesday morning confirmed that Sluka was also asked to transfer some money. Of course he is done playing for the Rebels and will transfer.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg spoke with Sluka’s father, Bob, who said UNLV did not pay his son anything. Bob says his son’s agent made a NIL deal with the university in February, and he didn’t pay. In fact, he says his son’s living expenses weren’t covered, which is unusual for a high-profile college player playing on a scholarship.
Perhaps Sluka contradicted the truth in his statement and now his family is repairing the damage. Perhaps the athletic department leaked false information about his family by hiring an agent in the middle of the night. Maybe the university actually gave him the promised money. Regardless of what actually went down, the optics this time around are not good for Sluka or UNLV. And head coach Barry Odom now doesn’t have his starting quarterback, regardless of what went down in the backfield.
College athletes deserve compensation for their name, image and likeness. But this has officially taken on a new life of its own. College football currently has an unrestricted free agency period on their hands. These athletes can find ways to avoid playing in games because they feel that their market value increases after a few wins.
It’s almost time for the NCAA to step in and put an end to this madness. Someone is lying. It is possible that the university has never compensated Sluka despite their promise to him, or that he is slipping there to chase more money.
Imagine in the NFL if an underpaid quarterback like Brock Purdy could just tell the San Francisco 49ers, “Nah. You don’t have enough money for me. I will sit out until I leave this offseason. Good luck to you guys, though.”
But for a team like UNLV, it’s lame. Their first player left them three weeks into the season because he wanted to chase more money.
That’s not what novice athletes should be. That’s not what professional sports are all about, where agents and athletes have to wait for a dedicated agency period before jumping to new teams.