The UNLV Rebels are 3-0 entering Week 5 but the team will have to continue the season without their starting quarterback.
Matthew Sluka, a senior, announced on X Wednesday he intends to sit out the remainder of the schedule and utilize his redshirt year. He cited “certain representations” made to him “that were not upheld after I enrolled” as the reason for his decision.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Adam Rittenberg, the representation Sluka alluded to was an unfulfilled verbal offer of $100,000 made by an assistant coach.
The shocking announcement has led to a flurry of he said/she said proclamations from each side, but regardless of the specifics that led to the drastic action, it’s impossible not to wonder if Sluka’s decision has set a seismic precedent.
Sluka’s sudden self-removal from the team is the latest example of the uncertainty surrounding college football’s NIL landscape.
In May, quarterback Jaden Rashada – who committed to Miami in 2022 but then signed for Florida in 2023, eventually flipping to Arizona State – sued Florida head coach Billy Napier and the university over claims he was defrauded of millions in NIL money.
Rashada, now the backup passer at Georgia after leaving ASU in 2024, alleges in the suit that he was promised $1 million “partial payment” upon signing for Florida, per ESPN. He says the school, coaching staff and athletic boosters did not deliver on that supposed promise.
Unfulfilled NIL promises were also cited as the reason for his flipping his commitment from Miami to Florida.
Sluka’s dispute seems miniscule compared to Rashada’s but the drastic action taken in the face of alleged broken business agreements could spell further troubles for college athletics.
If the NCAA’s anti-trust settlement is approved by a federal judge, schools will be free to pay student-athletes directly – essentially making them pseudo-employees or perhaps considered independent contractors in the context of the transfer portal.
That could open the door to labor law disputes and a different legal precedent being applied to cases like Rashada and Sluka’s. Will NIL promises be handled like contract law or will new laws be necessary to regulate the shifting college athletics landscape?
It should be noted Sluka has not filed any legal action against UNLV, but his self-removal from the team can be viewed as a single-employee labor strike. His example could inspire others to step aside in the interest of their earnings and business prospects.
