The starting quarterback for the red hot 3-0 UNLV football team Matthew Sluka announced on his social media that he will not play any additional games for the team and will be a redshirt to keep his eligibility to play for a different school next year.
For the reasoning behind his unprecedented departure, Sluka said on his social media, “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.”
There are always two sides to every story, and Sluka quitting on his teammates has had conflicting reports from outlets across the nation.
ESPN reporter Adam Rittenberg reported that Sluka’s father told ESPN that his son’s agents agreed to a NIL deal with the school in February. ESPN’s college football gameday insider Pete Thamel posted on social media that Sluka’s NIL agent Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports told him, “Sluka was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 from a UNLV assistant coach for transferring there. None of that money was paid.”
On the flipside, there are reports that say Sluka hired an agent after the football team started off 3-0.
CBS analyst Carl Reed Jr. posted on his social media that his source says Sluka’s family hired an agent because they feel that his value was raised after the wins against Kansas and Houston.
Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert, but there is something fishy about this situation.
Sluka’s camp puts UNLV in a bad light and makes the school seem like they made false promises to get a highly touted quarterback from the transfer portal. The problem with his camp is that their story has many flaws.
The first flaw and the most important part of Sluka’s reasoning behind leaving UNLV is undoubtedly the money. His camp has told the media that an assistant coach at the UNLV football program made a verbal offer that promised a minimum of $100,000 to transfer.
However, Rob Sine from Blueprint Sports, which operates UNLV’s collective, told CBS Sports that Sluka and the school never agreed on $100,000. He added that Blueprint Sports does not make any verbal offers and everything is contracted.
The thing that is off about this is that if UNLV offered to pay Sluka prior to the season, why would they not pay him the money that was agreed upon after having, arguably, the best starts in program history?
In the first time in program history, there is an actual possibility that UNLV can make the College Football Playoff. It would not make sense for them to not pay their starting quarterback agreed-upon money while on this historic run.
It would make more sense for Sluka to want more money playing football after the 3-0 start. Then, Sluka could demand UNLV to pay him this year or use this year as a redshirt year, keep his eligibility and transfer to a school that can pay him.
Sluka is not the only shady person in this conflict. His camp should have found a better agent to represent him because, according to CBS Sports, his agent, Marcus Cromartie, is not even a licensed agent in the state of Nevada.
It is illegal to be an sports agent in the state of Nevada without a state license, and under Nevada law, an athlete agent who isn’t registered when required is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and an up to $50,000 fine.
Cromartie should have focused on getting his license to be a sports agent in Nevada instead of giving poor advice to Sluka.
No matter what advice Cromartie gave to Sluka, he is still a sellout. Sluka wrote on his social media post, “I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.” If he wanted the best for the program, he should have announced his departure from the team after the Fresno State game to give the Bulldogs less time to prepare for the backup quarterback.
Also, if Sluka was actually blindsided by UNLV, why are his teammates in support rallying behind backup quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams instead?
Captains of the team Ricky White and Jackson Woodard have expressed support for Williams being the new starting quarterback on X. Woodard reposted a graphic of Williams and captioned “Bout time! Let’s ride!” and White commented, “True story,” to a tweet that mentioned a prediction of Williams throwing three touchdowns to him in this weekend’s game against Fresno State.
Taking into account the lack of evidence from credible sources, timing of the demand for hundreds of thousands of dollars and his teammates’ nonexistent support, it’s safe to say Matthew Sluka is a sellout. If he wanted to collect money playing football after the 3-0 start of the season and he could not get it from UNLV, it is understandable to redshirt this year and make money to play next year. What is not understandable is demanding money from UNLV, making up a bogus verbal agreement with an unlicensed agent after UNLV refuses his demands and pushing a false narrative to the media.
Matthew Sluka is a snake that just got caught up biting for the bag.
