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Ah the NIL and its consequences. As the college football world is up in arms about a decision made by UNLV QB Matthew Sluka, I'm wondering what happened to the game I love.
By Ryan Galloway | September 26, 2024
Photo by USATSI
News broke earlier this week that UNLV starting quarterback, Matthew Sluka, would opt out the rest of the season with the intent to redshirt and transfer at season’s end. Sluka, who led the Rebels to a 3-0 start, with two victories over Power Four schools, claimed UNLV promises regarding his NIL compensation were broken.
Sluka was a highly touted transfer out of the FCS, enjoying much success in 3 seasons at Holy Cross, and will now look elsewhere (likely a school with deep-pocketed boosters) for a place to call home for his final year of college.
De-commitments and transfers stemming from NIL disputes or seeking larger opportunities are far from unheard of in the new age of college athlete compensation. However, seeing this situation unfold in the public eye is rare. What this case does is highlight one of the many flaws of the current NIL system. There is no accountability, binding contract, paperwork, etc. between the university and the recruit. Did UNLV really offer Sluka $100,000 to come play for them? Maybe, and if so, Sluka was right to leave from a business perspective.
My heart says Matthew Sluka quit on his team. He quit on them 3 games into a season that had the chance of being the Rebels year to make some noise on the national stage. My brain says UNLV broke promises and messed with this man’s money, so he was right to go. Sluka probably won’t carve out a lucrative NFL career for himself, and this might be his last chance to get some money playing football before hitting Indeed. Maybe in this situation, both can be true.
What is certain, however, is this: we need change. And we need it now. The current system in which collegiate athletes are compensated is sketchy and there are massive and alarming gray areas all over the place. Currently, players can get conned out of money and brand deals because they essentially operate off handshake agreements with the universities they attend. Even the most well-intentioned coach can promise a player the world, but when they get to campus it's simple dollars and cents, oh well. On the other hand, recruits go into a season, and the second they perform well or catch wind that a school is looking at them, they abandon their team and leave them scrambling to find answers.
Here's the good news: when approved, the House v. NCAA settlement will allow for schools to directly pay their players through NIL deals beginning next year. This will allow for increased accountability from both parties, as well as a vetting process to ensure NIL deals are legitimate and decrease from third parties acting as an outsourced payroll to attract recruits rather than the intended payments for an athlete’s value as an endorser.
This settlement will also lead to establishing a salary cap of sorts, which is desperately needed for parity, at least as much as possible, within college football. The cap, estimated to be in the $20M range, would increase as league revenue grew.
Here’s the bad news: college football as we knew and generally loved it, is dead. Top players are being paid millions of dollars to attend schools and be lured away to other ones. Teams like Iowa State don’t have a chance in hell. Teams like SMU are probably excited. Recruitment pitches will focus on dollar signs, not school tradition or pro potential.
I still wake up every Saturday morning excited to lock in for a day of rivalries, tradition, school spirit, chaotic football, but is it going to feel slightly tainted? Does my team’s best player only care about this school because they gave him a few more bucks than our rival down the road? If we start out 3-0 and he’s playing well, will he sit out the rest of the way and transfer somewhere he can get more money?
It’s probably not as bleak as I’m making it sound. College football is fun. Athletes getting recognized for their talent and the revenue they help bring is a good thing. We just need to get control of this thing and establish some regulations. But it needs to happen, and fast.
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