It’s finally happened. The straw that broke the camel's back. The last nail in the coffin. I am of course referring to the end of college football as we know it.
In a shocking move early Wednesday morning, UNLV quarterback Matt Sluka announced on X that he's leaving the team because he didn't get what was promised in his NIL agreement.
Sluka’s announcement read, “I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this season. 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. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”
Sluka transferred into UNLV from Holy Cross this past offseason and has led the Rebels to a 3-0 start on the season, defeating three good teams in Houston, Utah Tech and Kansas. Through three games, Sluka had 318 passing yards and 253 rushing yards while starting all three games.
A local news website, Las Vegas Locally, reported a rumor that Sluka received an offer with more NIL money attached to quit and transfer. Fox Sports reporter Paloma Villicana corroborated this report saying, “UNLV QB Matt Sluka has been approached with more money to transfer.”
These reports raise major red flags. The scary scenario of Michigan picking up a quarterback mid-season or Alabama replacing an injured player with a Group of 5 superstar are all too real in this new reality. We are witnessing the end of College Football as we know it and are watching the birth of a multi-tiered professional football league.
Under the NCAA’s current Wild West system of governance, promises of wild compensation routinely lure players to schools but without the safeguards of official contracts like professional leagues, neither party is protected from situations such as this.
This is not the first case of NIL malfeasance, current Georgia QB Jadan Rashada is suing Florida Head Coach Billy Napier and the Gators Collective over a broken contract that Rashada signed upon signing to Florida. Rashada ultimately was released from his national letter of intent (NLI) to Florida and transferred around before landing at Georgia.
More details are sure to follow but this is a shocking development for a UNLV squad that looked primed to win the Mountain West this year and potentially could be the Group of 5 representative in the College Football Playoff this year.
