Late Tuesday night, UNLV starting quarterback Matt Sluka announced on social media that he wouldn’t be playing for the Runnin’ Rebels anymore this season, a statement that shook the college football landscape.
Sluka transferred to UNLV last offseason from FCS Holy Cross. The New York native has one year of eligibility remaining, which is a big reason why he’s leaving UNLV now instead of at the end of the season. If football players play in four games or less in a season, they can preserve that year of eligibility via redshirt.
Here’s part of what Sluka said in his statement:
“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.”
Reading between the lines, that certainly sounds like someone at UNLV promised Sluka a bag of NIL money, which did not arrive in a satisfactory time.
And according to much of the reporting on Wednesday morning, it sounds like that’s exactly what happened.
Here’s what we know:
What was Matt Sluka promised?
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Sluka was “verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 from a UNLV assistant coach,” and according to Sluka’s agent, those checks never hit. And so, Sluka and his agent started considering alternative options to preserve his eligibility and get paid.
The only money Sluka has received from UNLV, per Cromartie, is a $3,000 re-location stipend for his move. Cromartie said there was never an ask for more money after UNLV's hot start, only the initial amount he was promised up front.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 25, 2024
And according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, Sluka never asked for additional money or a raise, just what he was initially promised.
"They keep deferring, 'We don't know. You have to wait,'" Bob Sluka told me. "Then it was like, 'We're going to give him game checks.' So we're like, 'OK, great.' We did not ask for a single dollar [more]."
Sluka added that Matt's living expenses weren't even covered. https://t.co/Dsl5EbGW7v
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) September 25, 2024
Paloma Villicana, a local Fox Sports reporter in Las Vegas, also reported that Sluka has already been offered more money by another team.
Per source, UNLV QB Matt Sluka has been approached with more money to transfer.
— Paloma Villicana (@PalomaFOX5News) September 25, 2024
Who is Matt Sluka?
Before coming to UNLV, Sluka played four seasons at Holy Cross where he was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2020, an All-Patriot League selection from 2021 through 2023, and the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year last season. Holy Cross had some of its best seasons ever with Sluka under-center, going 12-1 in 2022 with a win over FBS Buffalo, and a 7-4 mark last season as co-conference champions.
Former Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney parlayed that success into a move into FBS, taking the head coach gig at James Madison, and Sluka became a sought-after transfer on the market.
Sluka has certainly been a big reason why UNLV is off to a 3-0 start this season with wins over Houston and Kansas – putting them in an early position to potentially win the Mountain West and grab the Group of Five playoff bid – but he isn’t some all-world irreplaceable talent.
His value for UNLV is really as a runner, where he’s piled up 253 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries this season. As a passer, he’s been average at best, completing 43.8 percent of his passes this season for 318 yards and six touchdowns.
With Sluka out of the picture, UNLV will likely turn to another transfer quarterback from the FCS ranks on their roster in Hajj-Malik Williams, who rushed for 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns while throwing for 8,236 yards and 58 touchdowns across parts of five seasons for Campbell. Last season for the Camels, he set career-highs in in yards (school-record 2,597), completions (231), attempts (328), touchdowns (19) and completion percentage (70.0).
Has this happened before in college football?
Sort of.
The closest example – and it’s not exactly identical – took place just last fall, when MJ Morris, then the quarterback for N.C. State, benched himself to preserve his redshirt season. Then a sophomore, the plan initially for Morris was to redshirt for the whole season, but he was thrust into action to replace Brennan Armstrong and help salvage N.C. State’s season.
After going 3-1 as a starter and helping the Wolfpack achieve bowl eligibility, Morris benched himself with three regular-season games remaining, including ones against rivals Wake Forest and North Carolina.
Without Morris in the lineup, N.C. State finished the regular season with three consecutive wins anyways. Like Sluka, Morris was a fine quarterback, but not regarded as one of the best in his own conference. Morris completed 55.8 percent of his throws last season for N.C. State for 719 yards, seven touchdowns and five picks while rushing for an unnoteworthy 15 yards.
Morris didn’t enter the transfer portal right away, but he did when the season ended and wound up at Maryland, where he did not win the starting job in preseason camp.
Perhaps the best breakdown of Morris’ situation at N.C. State is here, from Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio:
This probably isn’t the last time we see a situation akin to Sluka’s or Morris’ play out in college football as players obtain more agency and movement with the combination of NIL and the transfer portal.
[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=421393249]