Matthew Sluka's NIL dispute with UNLV hinges on verbal offer

UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka left the undefeated Rebels on Tuesday night amid allegations of unfulfilled NIL verbal promises from a UNLV assistant coach. This decision highlights the fragility of the current college system and the way it acquires and retains talent.

Sluka's agent, Marcus Cromartie, told ESPN that UNLV did not accept a $100,000 verbal offer from an assistant coach. The quarterback's father, Bob Sluka, told ESPN that head coach Barry Odom later said in a phone conversation that the offer was not valid because it did not come from him but from offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who declined to comment to ESPN.

UNLV and Shannon Cottrell, director of athlete engagement for the Friends of UNLV collective, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The UNLV collective paid Sluka a $3,000 fee for a deal he brokered this summer, according to Rob Sine, who runs Blueprint Sports, a company that manages the collective. Sine said Sluka's agents first contacted the collective in late August to discuss future opportunities to work together.

Sine said he was not aware of any promises to pay Sluka $100,000, and as far as he knew, Sluka had not contacted the cooperative about outstanding payments.

The decisions come at an important time for UNLV, as the Rebels have a 3-0 record and are ranked 23rd in the Coaches Poll, marking the first time in history that the program has been included in a major poll.

UNLV, with Sluka at quarterback, defeated Big 12 teams Houston Cougars and Kansas and will host Fresno State in its Mountain West Conference opener on Saturday. The Rebels' home game against Syracuse the following Friday night is one of the most highly anticipated games in recent school history.

UNLV is also currently in the midst of deciding its conference future between the Pac-12 and the Mountain West, a decision that has major implications for the current structure of college sports.

Because Marion's offer to Sluka was verbal and never formalized, there are different versions of what happened. Sources told ESPN that Sluka approached Odom about the money in recent days and practiced with the Rebels on Monday but not on Tuesday. The senior transfer announced on social media on Tuesday that he would not play for the Rebels again this season and that he plans to use his redshirt this year.

pic.twitter.com/oK5BDRpoxK

— Matthew Sluka (@MatthewSluka) 25 September 2024

The only formal offer from the school was an offer of $3,000 per month for four months, according to Cromartie. The only money Sluka received from UNLV, according to Cromartie, was $3,000 for moving expenses.

The point of tension seems to revolve around the verbal offer. While reports have surfaced from UNLV that Sluka asked for more money, Sluka insists he only asked for what the program verbally promised. Because the vagaries of NIL rules mean no upfront contract is required and third parties are technically responsible for giving athletes the contracts, the ambiguity over the validity of verbal offers hangs over college sports.

According to his father and agent, Sluka never asked for an adjustment to the deal he was originally promised. When Sluka reported to UNLV over the summer, he was told the money would be paid in installments. He was later told the payment would be made after he enrolled at the school and began classes, according to his father.

According to Cromartie, the school and collective had officially offered $3,000 per month for four months, which was $88,000 less than what Sluka and Cromartie were verbally told last winter.

The current system for paying college athletes — where schools can make financial offers to players during the recruiting process but cannot directly fulfill those promises — may soon change. As part of a pending antitrust dispute, the NCAA has agreed to allow its schools to pay players directly. If the settlement is approved in court, the new system could provide more certainty for both players and teams by allowing them to enter into more direct contracts with each other.

After UNLV's games began, Cromartie contacted Cottrell and Director of Player Development Hunkie Cooper.

“They keep putting it off — 'We don't know. You'll have to wait,'” Bob Sluka said. “Then they said, 'We'll give him gaming checks.' So we said, 'OK, great.' We didn't ask for a single dollar. [more]. At some point we had to pay for his presence out of our own pockets because even his living expenses were not covered.”

Bob Sluka told ESPN that Marion and Equity Sports agents had already agreed to a verbal agreement in the winter, following a recruiting visit where they spent most of their time with Marion but also met with the entire coaching staff.

“We went in knowing that if Matt came there on the NIL deal, we would get a certain dollar amount, not an exorbitant amount, but a reasonable, fair amount,” Bob Sluka said, adding that Matthew later received more than 25 NIL offers from other schools, including Big Ten and SEC teams, that were “four, five times the amount we were willing to take from UNLV.”

After the money from UNLV's verbal commitment never materialized, Sluka decided to leave the team and take his redshirt opportunity.

The NCAA's redshirt rules allow players to retain a year of eligibility if they play four or fewer games in a season. Sluka, who played four seasons (2020-23) at FCS program Holy Cross before transferring to UNLV last offseason, has another year of eligibility that he could use next season at another school.

NCAA rules do not allow players to play for two schools in the same season.

UNLV is 3-0 for the first time since 1984 and received a total of 53 points in the latest Associated Press poll, just 16 points behind No. 25 Boise State. The Rebels, who beat Kansas on the road in Week 3, also began the season with a win over Houston, giving them a 2-0 record against Big 12 teams and raising hopes they could compete for a spot in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Sluka has completed 21 of 48 passes for 318 yards and six touchdowns with one interception this season, his first with the Rebels. He has also rushed 39 times for 286 yards and one touchdown.

In UNLV's 23-20 upset win at Kansas on Sept. 13, Sluka led the Rebels on an 18-play, 75-yard run that ended with Kylin James scoring on fourth down from the 1-yard line with 1:51 left. Sluka rushed for 113 yards in that game.

After the win, Bob Sluka said Cromartie spoke to Cooper in the stadium tunnel about Sluka's contract and Cooper told him to call him the following week. On September 19, Cooper and Odom called Cromartie.

Bob Sluka said the call made it seem like Marion didn't have the authority to make an offer of that magnitude. Bob Sluka said the family never heard from the UNLV group and was confused about what happened.

“We have no idea what the hell happened,” Bob Sluka said. “Nobody can explain it. Why would you let your starting quarterback leave the building? We didn't ask for a cent more than what was agreed to (this winter).”

Sluka spent the first four years of his college career at Holy Cross, where he ranks first in passing efficiency (147.4), second in rushing yards (3,583), second in rushing touchdowns (38), fifth in passing yards (5,916), and fifth in passing touchdowns (59). He rushed for an NCAA Division I quarterback record 330 yards in a 2023 loss to Lafayette.

Holy Cross reached the FCS playoffs in 2021 and 2022 with Sluka as the starter. After a coaching change at Holy Cross – head coach Bob Chesney left the team to take over at James Madison – Sluka also moved on.

Sluka now plans to train with a quarterback coach in the fall and enroll in a school in January to give himself enough time to learn the system, something he hasn't had time to do since he graduated from Holy Cross University last spring.

With Sluka now out of the running, UNLV will likely look to either senior transfer Hajj-Malik Williams or senior Cameron Friel as its starting quarterback. UNLV finished 9-5 last season and played for the Mountain West championship, but the quarterback who led the team to the program's best season in nearly 40 years, Jayden Maiava, transferred to USC.

ESPN's Dan Murphy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.