By Antonio Morales, David Ubben and Brian Hamilton
The starting quarterback for UNLV will sit out the rest of the season because of a disagreement over payments following his transfer to the school.
Matthew Sluka said Tuesday he planned to redshirt this season by not playing in any more games. His decision, which comes on the heels of UNLV’s first 3-0 start in 40 years, is unprecedented in college football’s new age of player movement and name, image and likeness negotiations.
Sluka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie, told ESPN that Sluka was “verbally promised” at least $100,000 by an assistant coach before committing to the school this offseason, but has received only a $3,000 relocation stipend. Sluka’s father, Bob, told The Athletic that two agents negotiated the money over the phone in February and that they did not ask for anything extra during the team’s hot start to the season.
“Essentially they refused, (coach) Barry Odom refused to give us the money,” Bob Sluka said. “We tried everything. We’d take payments. Anything. And they just kept deferring it and deferring it, and to this day, we do not know why.”
Longtime UNLV donor Bill Paulos told The Athletic on Wednesday night there was no agreement with Sluka of any kind past the $3,000 relocation fee, which was paid out after Sluka made a charity appearance.
“If there is a monetary agreement, it comes directly to me,” Paulos said. “If there’s a kid getting $100,000, I’ll know about it. One hundred percent.”
According to Paulos, Sluka’s agent emailed UNLV donors on Aug. 28 to introduce himself as Sluka’s new representation and ask to discuss possible NIL scenarios. Paulos said UNLV donors told the agent they couldn’t engage because the agent was not registered in Nevada.
In a statement Wednesday, UNLV said Sluka’s agent made “financial demands” to the school and its NIL collective in order to continue playing.
“UNLV Athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of the NCAA’s pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law,” the school said. “UNLV does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to implied threats. UNLV has honored all previously agreed-upon scholarships for Matthew Sluka.”
Blueprint Sports, which operates UNLV’s NIL collective, said it did not make a formal NIL offer to Sluka as a recruit, nor did it “finalize or agree to” any offers while Sluka was on the team aside from one community engagement event. Rob Sine, the CEO of Blueprint Sports, told multiple reporters the collective made one payment of $3,000 to Sluka.
“We would like to emphasize that we have upheld all Friends of UNILV contracts this season, and have not defaulted on any agreements with Mr. Sluka,” Blueprint Sports said in the statement.
In a statement Wednesday, the NCAA said that while it supports college athletes “profiting off NIL,” it pointed to the “little oversight and accountability” in the space.
“Positive changes are underway at the NCAA to deliver more benefits to student-athletes but without clear legal authority granted by the courts or by Congress, the NCAA, conferences and schools have limited authority to regulate third parties involved in NIL transactions,” said NCAA senior vice president for external affairs Tim Buckley.
The in-season decision to redshirt and preserve eligibility for a potential transfer has become a trend across college football over the past two seasons. Players can play in four games and still redshirt a season.
In the past, though, those moves have often been made by players who are buried on the depth chart and aren’t receiving meaningful snaps. Sluka, in contrast, was the starting quarterback of a team that has been one of the feel-good stories of the 2024 season with a chance to win its conference and, perhaps, reach the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Group of 5 is guaranteed at least one spot in the Playoff, and The Athletic’s projections give UNLV, which plays in the Mountain West, an 18 percent chance to make it. The Rebels’ resume already includes wins over Big 12 foes Houston and Kansas.
The program had just two winning seasons from 2000 through 2022. Odom, now in his second year, won nine games in his first season as Rebels coach and took the team to the Mountain West Championship Game for the first time.
Sluka, who is from Locust Valley, N.Y., transferred to UNLV this offseason after spending the previous four years at Holy Cross, an FCS program. In 2023, he was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after he passed for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,247 yards. He finished fourth in voting for the Walter Payton Award, which is awarded to the FCS’ most outstanding offensive player.
— Matthew Sluka (@MatthewSluka) September 25, 2024
Through three games this season, Sluka has thrown for 318 yards, six touchdowns and one interception and leads the team in rushing with 253 yards and a touchdown.
In his statement Tuesday, Sluka alluded to promises made at the time of his commitment that he said had not been fulfilled.
“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,” he wrote. “I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”
After reaching the Mountain West Championship Game last season, UNLV lost its previous starting quarterback to the transfer portal. Jayden Maiava spearheaded the Rebels’ run and was named 2023 Mountain West Freshman of the Year. He was pursued by high-profile programs like Georgia and USC. He eventually decided to play for the Trojans and is the backup to Miller Moss.
Now, UNLV has lost its starting quarterback again, but this time within the first month of the season and with a 3-1 Fresno State team traveling to Las Vegas to face the Rebels on Saturday afternoon. Running back Michael Allen, who had 19 carries for 108 yards in three games, also said Wednesday he is entering the transfer portal and using his redshirt, saying his expectations for opportunities were not met.
At quarterback, UNLV could turn to FCS transfer Hajj-Malik Williams, who passed for 8,236 yards and 58 touchdowns in five seasons at Campbell. Williams has been on campus with the Rebels since the spring.
The only quarterback on UNLV’s roster who has attempted a pass this season is senior Cameron Friel, who completed a 30-yard pass in a 72-14 win over Utah Tech. Friel was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2021 after he passed for 1,608 yards, six touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Friel attempted 226 passes that season, but only 50 in the three seasons since.
“We all know we had a roster change at the quarterback position,” Odom said on a Wednesday night radio show. We’re certainly excited about the two we’ve trained for this moment.
“There are so many things that happen over the course of a 15-week season, the good and the bad. If you can stay in the mindset of where your feet are, be there, that’s monumental. We have a mature team. My feeling is we have a chance to go play our best ball on Saturday.”
True freshman Gael Ochoa, a three-star recruit, also joined the program in January.
Whoever starts will have the benefit of throwing to star receiver Ricky White III, who has just 126 receiving yards this season but posted 1,314 yards in 2023.
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(Photo: Tre. Smith / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
