UNLV QB Matthew Sluka's NIL saga highlights relationships with coaches, collectives

Less than two years ago, Florida quarterback commit Jaden Rashada was released from his National Letter of Intent after a $13.85 million NIL contract was terminated. 

To that point, that was the biggest headline of the NIL Era. But that changed on Wednesday when UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka decided to redshirt and leave the program because representations “were not upheld.” 

The former Holy Cross transfer was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 during his recruitment but only saw a $3,000 relocation fee, his agent Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports told On3.

UNLV is 3-0 and competing for a berth in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Sluka’s decision was the public’s first real look at the cross-section of NIL promises and the transfer portal. The UNLV program and its NIL collective have released statements pushing back against Sluka’s allegations of a $100,000 unpaid offer. 

Cromartie said that an offensive assistant offered the financial package.

“I know that it’s happened in two different SEC programs that I consider to be very well run,” an NIL collective operator said about the UNLV situation. “It’s a challenge. Coaches and assistant coaches make promises that nobody is familiar with or aware of. It’s more prevalent than people might be aware of.”

Alignment with collectives, coaching staffs crucial

Cromartie said he approached the program roughly two weeks ago to engage in conversations with the NIL collective and head coach Barry Odom. Cromartie said UNLV and the collective “aren’t working on the same page.”

Wednesday’s news did not surprise many in NIL and college athletics. NIL collectives, college sports leaders and coaches have talked in circles for more than two years about the potential of a prominent athlete leaving a program due to broken NIL promises during the season. At Michigan State last season, football players en route to Iowa for a game were emailed that their contracts with an NIL collective had been canceled. Another collective, Charitable Gift America, stepped up and signed athletes to deals.

Donor-driven NIL collectives make up more than 80% of NIL dollars in college sports. The majority of Power Four NIL collectives are spending $5 to $15 million annually on rosters, with some crossing the $20 million mark. 

The preliminary injunction in Tennessee handed down to the NCAA in February allows prospects to negotiate deals with NIL collectives before enrolling. The NCAA later announced it was pausing all investigations into third parties. But NIL collectives are not making the roster-building decisions on their own.

Brian Davis is the CEO of California-based law firm Forward Counsel, which operates the NIL agency Power Up Sports. He works with more than 100 athletes, including a range of top prospects like five-star cornerback DJ Pickett. Power Up negotiates deals with collectives. 

“I think that this is a cautionary tale and why athletes need sophisticated representation to know what they’re doing,” Davis said. “… The collectives are there to support and promote the programs yeah, and it’s up to the programs to direct the donor-based collectives where they best see fit to help support the program. 

“I’m sure the collectives provide advice and direction as to where they see fit, but it’s really up to the programs to educate the collectives as to where to best invest their resources to help support the program and hopefully make a lot more money for the athletic department once the program starts winning football games.”

The majority of Power Four NIL collectives work closely with their coaching staff. Payments and negotiations are handled by the collective, while coaches make evaluation and roster-building decisions. Collectives are constantly making sure dollars spent produce a return on investment.

“Our coaches have done a really good job of evaluating talent,” an SEC NIL collective operator told On3. “Now that’s not to say they’ve been good for the last two years, and over the next two years, they won’t hit at the same rate. I don’t know. But I want to feel like we’ve gotten lucky a little bit.”

NIL agent: Barry Odom only negotiates for UNLV

When Cromartie recently approached the UNLV football program to restart talks about Matthew Sluka’s deal, Odom allegedly told the NIL agent that he was “the only one who negotiates for UNLV football.” The average annual Group of Five NIL budget ranges from $500,000 to $1 million.

UNLV eventually offered Sluka $3,000 a month over the final four months of the season. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Thursday night that Circa CEO Derek Stevens and vice president of operations Mike Palm approached UNLV to pay Sluka the $100,000. UNLV immediately declined the offer.

For many programs that are retaining talent and finding success in the transfer portal, NIL alignment is crucial.

“It is very rare that the collectives are making any decisions, it’s the coaching staff,” an NIL collective leader in the Big Ten said. “The collectives are doing what they can. They’re overpaying in many instances because the coaching staffs are like, ‘We got to get this guy, and we don’t care what it costs us. It’s not our problem.’ It’s just a massively inefficient system.”