What they’re saying about Matthew Sluka’s departure from UNLV

What UNLV players, national media and college football observers are saying about former Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka’s departure from the program:

Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow): “This is a perfect depiction of why guardrails are needed for NIL deals. There’s been a lot of these deals where players were promised something and they don’t get it.”

Jackson Woodard, UNLV linebacker (@jackson_wood23): “Bout time! Let’s ride!”

Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports: “The prevailing sentiment is that the system is at fault here, rather than the player. It’s going to happen again. How long until players hold out in the middle of the season? This is what the NCAA has left us in the NIL era, which is something pretty much close to squat.”

Brett McMurphy, Action Network (@Brett_McMurphy): “This UNLV situation would never ever happen at an SEC school. The SEC bagmen deliver every single time.”

Robert Griffin III (@RGIII): “Go play young man and sue the university after the season whether you make the (College Football Playoff) or not if they didn’t pay you what was agreed upon. If you make the CFP, the school will have even more money made off the backs of you and your teammates. It strengthens your case in the court of law and in the court of public opinion.”

Michael McCann, Sportico: “If Sluka were to attempt to enforce the oral agreement, he would present the strongest case if he could provide sworn testimony from witnesses that they too viewed it as a $100,000 offer where Sluka, by attending UNLV, accepted and would be paid ostensibly for his NIL. … Any accompanying texts, direct messages, emails or other evidence would also help show that his case is more than his word versus the coach. But the situation is complicated by the fact that pay-for-play is technically unauthorized under NCAA rules.”

Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports (@NicoleAuerbach): “No matter what we know or don’t know about the UNLV/Sluka NIL dispute … employment contracts between athletes and their schools would solve these problems.”

Andrew Brandt, Sports Illustrated/ESPN (@AndrewBrandt): “Re NIL, I would expect players will ‘hold out’ of big games and/or playoff games until certain commitments are met, or try to renegotiate terms to play. Sense it has already happened. College football has no rules: no discipline/fine system, no Salary Cap, annual free agency.”

Pete Thamel, ESPN.com (@PeteThamel): “From a veteran college head coach on the UNLV/Sluka situation: ‘… Everyone is trying to find out who is at fault, and it’s the NCAA’s fault. There’s no rules. There’s no guardrails.’”

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports: “The lack of stability and any potential holes in the contract allows for exploitation from both sides. We don’t know the situation here, but hypothetically, if a player plays poorly, the collective could try to find ways to not pay. Conversely, if the player plays well, he could try to find ways to either hold out in-season and demand more pay, or just shut it down and transfer somewhere else for the following season and get paid even more. The easy solution here is to make the players employees, but college athletics has fought tooth and nail to avoid that. These are the consequences.”

Clint Brewster, CBS Sports (@clintbrew247): “Sluka is a gritty playmaker that can pull a rabbit out of his hat in clutch situations. But there’s much to be desired in terms of consistency and accuracy in the passing game.”

Ross Dellenger, Yahoo Sports: “Both sides involved in the UNLV situation — Sluka’s agent and UNLV — have spoken. Emerging is a truth not uncommon in this unwieldy and complicated world of college sports where schools are relying on third-parties and boosters to fund football rosters: Not everyone is on the same proverbial page.”

Kevin Sweeney, SI Now (@CBB_Central): “So the agent:

- Never got any signed documentation for his client

- Didn’t reach out to the collective until late August

- Wasn’t a registered agent in the state the client he represents plays in

Over-promises are a problem, but seems like Sluka needs a new agent.”

Brandon Marcello, CBS Sports: “(Hajj-Malik) Williams was a star at Campbell, leading the program to a 6-1 start as a freshman in 2020, but he spent most of the 2021 hampered by injury. … He was an electric athlete for the FCS program as both a passer and runner, recording multiple highlight-reel plays during his career. Upon his arrival at Campbell, he said he had to learn how to become a leader, according to a profile on the school’s website last fall.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.