September 13, 2024; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; UNLV Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) runs the ball against Kansas Jayhawks safety OJ Burroughs (5) during the second half at Children’s Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imegan Images Many people leave Las Vegas with less money than they brought in. This is especially true if you are not yet 21 years old.
UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka will depart Las Vegas after leading the Rebels to an undefeated 3-0 start.
On Wednesday morning, Sluka released a statement on social media revealing he will be a redshirt and sit out the remainder of the season.
“I made my commitment to UNLV based on certain representations that were not upheld after I enrolled,” Sluka said. “Despite discussions, it became apparent that these commitments would not be honored in the future.”
College football analyst Carl Reid Jr. reported that despite this statement, Sluka’s financial commitments were met by the university. However, after Big win against Houston And in Kansas, his family hired an agent and realized his market value had increased.
Welcome to the world we live in.
Reports on Wednesday morning confirmed that Sluka had been paid more money to transfer. He has indeed stopped playing for the Rebels and will transfer.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg spoke to Sluka’s father, Bob, who claimed UNLV never paid his son anything. Bob claims his son’s agent struck a void deal with the university in February, and he never received any payment. In fact, he claims his son’s living expenses weren’t even covered, which is pretty unconventional for a high-profile college athlete playing sports on scholarship.
Maybe Sluka distorted the truth in his statement and now his family is dealing with some damages. Maybe the athletic department leaked false information about his family hiring an agent in the middle of the night. Maybe the university actually robbed him of the money he was promised. Regardless of what really happened, the outlook on this doesn’t bode well for Sluka or UNLV. And head coach Barry Odom is now without his starting quarterback, regardless of what really happened behind the scenes.
College athletes are entitled to compensation for their name, image, and likeness. But this has officially begun its new life. College football currently has an unrestricted free agency period. These athletes may look for loopholes to avoid playing in games because they feel their market value has increased after just a few wins.
It’s only a matter of time before the NCAA steps in and puts an end to this madness. Someone is lying here. Either the university never compensated Sluka even though he was promised, or he’s actually running away in search of more money.
Imagine if a low-paid quarterback like Brock Purdy in the NFL could tell the San Francisco 49ers, “No. You don’t have enough money for me. I’m going to sit out until I can leave this offseason. Best of luck to my teammates, though.”
But for a team like UNLV, they were devastated. Their starting quarterback quit after three weeks of the season because he wanted to make more money.
This shouldn’t be the case in amateur athletics. Nor should it be the case in professional sports, where agents and athletes have to wait for a dedicated free agency period before moving to new teams.