The UNLV Rebels recently had a major figure offered to pay certain NIL disputes, but the Rebels staff declined to do so.
The Rebels have seen two players redshirt and announce intentions of transferring after different issues with the team. Starting quarterback Matthew Sluka claims he was paid just $3000 of the $100,000 he agreed upon verbally with the staff. Backup running back Michael Allen also announced he would transfer, but claimed he made no NIL earnings and rather had promises broken regarding playing time.
A representative for a Las Vegas casino mogul contacted UNLV with an offer to pay quarterback Matthew Sluka the $100,000 he said the university owed him.
STORY: https://t.co/hpwWq51Oa7 pic.twitter.com/VO4FnRCErx— Las Vegas Review-Journal (@reviewjournal) September 27, 2024
After hearing of the news, the UNLV staff was contacted by Circa CEO Derek Stevens, who offered to pay the $100,000 to Sluka to resolve the outstanding issue. Circa is a string of resorts and casinos in Las Vegas with the notable original hotel sitting on Freemont Street.
However, UNLV denied the request made by Stevens due to the fact that the Rebels had already told Sluka he could not return. The Rebels staff told Stevens that the staff was not ‘open to doing business’ with the quarterback anymore, and would move on without the player.
Stevens, a fan of the Rebels, offered to pay the $100,000 as he felt it would be a wise investment. The Circa CEO stated that he wanted to ‘keep the Rebels’ playoff hopes alive’ and correct the transfer before it occurred.
However, UNLV has already removed Sluka from the roster and cannot add the quarterback back to the roster moving forward. Therefore, the move from Stevens to correct the issue was too little too late as the quarterback was already gone.
UNLV Rebels Decline to Take Quarterback Matthew Sluka Back Following Dispute
While some people like Stevens may have thought this situation could be resolved financially, there are much deeper implications than that.
Sluka announced his redshirt and eventual transfer and in doing so also made serious claims about the financial collectives assisting UNLV. The staff and school cannot directly pay players, thus meaning they also do not have an accurate idea of what is physically being paid out by collectives. This issue has caused many to label the NIL system as the ‘Wild West’ with money flying around but no real tracking of any sort.
Many recruits are already weary of the NIL system, and flock to programs like Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, who all have some of the most well-perfected collectives in college sports.
With the NIL issues UNLV is experiencing, compounded with the claims made by Sluka, some players might be weary of playing in Las Vegas. Sluka and his agent, Marcus Cromartie, claim the collective and the staff had not been communicating, resulting in missed payments and the staff being unaware of such an issue.
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