I can relate to Matthew Sluka. He was a late bloomer. He was not highly recruited out of high school and opted for a PG (Post-Graduate) year at a Northeastern Prep School. The comparisons continue as Matthew enrolled at Holy Cross, an excellent academic school that competes at the FCS level (l-AA) in the Patriot League. Another member of the Patriot League is my alma mater, Lehigh University. That’s about where the comparisons end.
I thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from the advantages of being a “big-fish” in a “small pond.” The opportunity at Lehigh granted me time to grow, develop my skills, and actually acquire an undergraduate degree that still benefits me to this day. Oh, and along the way I was the third Quarterback chosen in the NFL draft and played eight years of professional football before pursuing a business career.
Matthew Sluka had it going…
I’m sure Matthew Sluka and I had many of the same dreams. Clearly, he was aspirational because after his junior year at Holy Cross where he was named first team All-Patriot League, he opted to enter the transfer portal. He decided there were greener pastures after throwing for 26 TD passes with only four interceptions for the Crusaders in 2022. He passed for 2,489 yards and rushed for another 1,234 yards that junior season. Similar to my experience at Lehigh, he led his Holy Cross team into the FCS national championships. One variant to our careers is Matthew’s Holy Cross team lost to Lafayette 38-35 that season. I’m very happy to point out my class at Lehigh went 3-0 vs the arch rival Leopards! But, I digress.
Show me the money!
When I mentioned Matthew Sluka opted ‘for greener pastures, I wasn’t just talking about a stronger football team, I was talking about greenbacks… money. NIL money. You know, the Name, Image and Likeness money that has opened up to college, and even in some states, high school athletes. This all got started in 2021 when the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA could not prohibit student-athletes from profiting from education-related payments. Specifically, the court ruled that student-athletes could get paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness, without endangering their “amateur” status.
What has ensued since the 2021 SCOTUS ruling has been utter chaos for universities, student-athletes, coaches, boosters and yes, Matthew Sluka. It would take volumes of space not available here to give a complete history and update on the status of NIL but here are some lowlights.
A complete cluster
Initially following the 2021 ruling, the NCAA agreed that student-athletes can receive funds but the schools cannot pay those funds directly. Go figure. I’m thinking, what’s the point? But the NCAA said the payments must be subsidized and paid via third parties. These third parties are popularly called “Collectives.” The Collectives are typically a derivative of existing alumni and booster clubs affiliated with universities.
The NCAA also stated that NIL offers cannot be communicated by coaches or other official university representatives. Again, what’s the point? The NCAA insisted offers must come from the Collectives. Furthermore, the offers cannot be an inducement to attend a university. They can only be “offered” and paid after the student-athlete is enrolled. Ridiculous.
Who’s on 1st ?
Ok, how screwed up is that? A coach is recruiting a 17 or 18 year-old kid and the coach can tell him football players on the team are receiving NIL money and you would qualify for some of that money and here is the range of money that might be available to you. But, you need to go talk to the people at the Collective for the details.
Now, somewhere in this chain of communication, the coach needs to communicate to the Collective that the program likes this kid and he or she should receive an NIL deal. Do they or can they talk about how much? Not clear. In fact, many coaches deny having discussions with their Collectives. They fear reprimands. They are terrified of more lawsuits. There is no transparency to the process.
What does Lane Kiffin say?
Best example: Lane Kiffin. The head coach at Ole Miss freely admits his program is benefitting from NIL and the parallel transfer portal madness that has evolved from it. Athletes now can opt-out of commitments EVERY year of their eligibility! Yes. They can seek out a better NIL deal every year. Says Kiffin to Seth Emerson of The Pulse, ” That’s how bad I’m telling you this is. The current system probably benefits us as much as any school in America. And I’m telling you it’s a horrible system, so what does that tell you ?”
Kiffin and most coaches want reform but it’s hard to identify who is going to provide it. The NCAA has just agreed to a $2.78 billion settlement of three (yes three!) antitrust cases facing the NCAA and power conferences from former or current student-athletes. In the settlement, the NCAA proposes that moving forward the payment to student-athletes should be back in the hands of the university athletic programs. Thus, putting the Collectives out of the student-athlete salary business.
A salary cap? For kids?
I agree with the above except how do you determine which athletes get paid and how much? The settlement may go back as far as ten years with student-athletes getting amounts between $15,000 to $280,000 depending upon their respective NIL values. Yeah, well who determines the value?
Moving forward the NCAA is proposing a $17-22 million annual “salary cap” for each power four program who opts-in. But remember, since title lX was implemented in 1972 universities must fund student-athlete programs equally across male and female sports. So the salary cap funds must be distributed across all sports at a given university. It has been determined that the $17-22 million would cover between 40-60% of all the athletes in a power four program. So go figure out who gets what. Good grief.
More athletes want in!
Meanwhile, this settlement proposal is already being sued by another party! The lead attorney is Michael Hausfeld who ran the O’Bannon vs NCAA landmark case back in 2015. The O’Bannon case (named after a UCLA basketball player) was the first to determine by the court that the NCAA’s long-held practice of barring payments to athletes violated antitrust laws. The judge ordered that schools should be allowed to offer full cost-of-living expenses including as much as $5,000 being placed into a trust for each athlete per year of eligibility. Remember when that $5k stipend was such a big deal? It was just the tip of the iceberg!
Hausfeld’s lawsuit argues that the damages ($2.78 billion) are too low, the cap on the proposed revenue-share system (currently proposed at about 22%) between the universities and the athletes is unlawful, and restrictions placed on booster-funded NIL Collectives are unfair.
What about the FEDS?
Meanwhile the federal government has been slow (surprise!) to get involved. Currently, the U.S. House of Representatives has been holding hearings to examine a bill dubbed “protecting student-athletes economic freedom act.” The bill would deny college athletes the chance to be declared employees of their colleges, conferences, or the NCAA. It’s complicated.
You can’t unionize unless you are an employee. You really can’t collectively bargain unless you have a union. But, if you are an employee you can get fired. Try and determine the athletic, and perhaps academic, thresholds to keep your job playing football in college!!! Gee sorry, we’re letting you go because your completion percentage was below 55%!
But think about being a US Congress person and voting on this if you are a representative in Georgia, Alabama, Texas or Michigan? Let’s see, do I want to restrict payments to our athletes? Do I want our colleges to pay more of the athletic departments TV money to the players? Uh, could we have a recess?
How about the state governments?
The states are in this mess as well. On September 17, 2024, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia signed an executive order making it legal for universities to pay student-athletes for using their name, image, or likeness. The language of the order says that the state of Georgia will “protect its intercollegiate athletic organizations from any adverse actions that might otherwise be taken by the NCAA, an athletic conference or any other organization with authority over intercollegiate athletics.” Wow.
The order goes on to say “In the absence of nationwide name, image, and likeness regulation, this executive order helps our institutions with the necessary tools to fully support our students-athletes in their pursuit of NIL opportunities, remain competitive with our peers and secure the longterm success of our athletics programs.” OK, no one can say Brian Kemp is soft on NIL for Georgia students!
Meanwhile Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Dawgs’ head coach Kirby Smart has told donors across the state that Georgia needs at least $20 million ANNUALLY to competitively compensate UGA football through its Collective. Wonder what that means for the women’s field hockey team?
In summary
As of the summer of 2024, 36 states have passed legislation to protect athletes Name, Image, and Likeness rights. There is very little uniformity in these orders and there is currently zero federal oversight. There is a $2.78 billion settlement on the table from the NCAA to three different groups representing all types of collegiate athletes both past and present. There are quite a few more interested parties challenging the settlement and wanting a piece of the pie. The NCAA is trying to hang on to its federal antitrust status or possibly fold or be deemed irrelevant.
So back to Quarterback Matthew Sluka
After deciding to leave Holy Cross and enter the transfer portal last December, he worked out a scholarship arrangement with UNLV. You know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Well, a lack of transparency between Matthew Sluka and UNLV and its Collective has created a real shit-storm for everyone.
The head coach at UNLV, Barry Odom, was excited to sign Matthew Sluka out of the transfer portal. Odom felt Stuka’s dual-threat skills would be ideal for his Runnin Rebels offense in 2024. Odom firmly believed heading into the 2024 season that his team was a candidate for the CFP 12-team field. And he was right! UNLV would open the season 3-0 including a big upset of Kansas 23-20 on September 13th. In that game, Matthew Sluka would pass for a TD and rush for 124 yards on 19 carries (6.5 per attempt). It would be his last game as a Rebel.
Looking out for #1
The following Tuesday, Sluka announced via social media that he is leaving the UNLV program because of promises made around his NIL compensation that were not fulfilled. He’s not leaving the program at the end of the season, he is leaving his 3-0 teammates immediately. Why now? Well, it just so happens that if Sluka plays four games or less, he is eligible to red-shirt for the 2024 season. Meaning he will retain one more year of eligibility for 2025. It is very feasible that the 6’3″ 215 lb dual-threat QB could and will receive additional offers after he enters the portal (yet again) this December.
What went wrong?
What happened to the UNLV relationship? Maybe we should just try to solve world peace? But, here’s what we know. Or, at least what’s out there. ESPN reports that Stuka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports, told them that the QB is leaving the program because he was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 from a UNLV coach and only received $3,000.
His father, Bob Sluka, told ESPN they had a verbal agreement with UNLV OC Brennan Marion for what they believed was a “reasonable, fair number … but payments were delayed and no effort was made to formalize a contract with their Collective.” Again according to ESPN, Rob Sine of Blueprint Sports, the company that manages UNLV’s Collective, confirmed that Sluka had no deal in writing and said the Collective wasn’t aware of any promises to pay Sluka $100,000. Sine did confirm that Sluka received one $3,000 payment.
And finally this from ESPN: In a statement, UNLV said Sluka’s representatives made financial demands in order to continue playing that its athletic department interpreted as a violation of the NCAA pay-for-play rules and Nevada state law. “UNLV does not engage in such activities, nor does it respond to implied threats” the school said in a released statement. Ouch!
Did I say “what a cluster …?”
Recall earlier we identified coaches are not allowed to make offers to prospects? Recall also that the offer is supposed to come from the Collective. Recall the offer is not supposed to be a recruiting inducement and can only be concluded after the prospect enrolls at the university. These are all huge loopholes that have led to this terrible fiasco.
From the outside-in, its impossible to place blame. Did a UNLV coach make an unsanctioned offer to Matthew Sluka? His dad says so. Does Matthew Sluka have a contract in writing from the UNLV Collective or does his agent? UNLV says there is no contract. How can you move from one coast to another, from an FCS school to an FBS institution, and not have anything in writing? It seems rather incredulous.
Back to Lane
Lane Kiffin had this additional comment in his discussion with The Pulse “my sense is that the majority of rules, or not having rules now, have become all about the fear of being sued. So then we just eliminate the rules… so just let them transfer as many times as they like.” And Kiffin closed his interview with this “it has been great stuff for the players getting paid and long overdue, but I don’t know that it’s in the best interest of 17-21 year olds. That it’s in their best interest to know ‘I can leave at any point. Mentally, I can check out into the next (portal) window at any point, no matter how many times I’ve gone. I don’t have to stay. I don’t have to practice through adversity if I don’t like what the coach said to me or where I am on the depth chart. You know, I can always just keep leaving.’ Amen Lane.
Who is going to step up?
NIL in college sports is one chaotic experience after another with no real solution in sight. Matthew Sluka is not the first player to opt-out. He’s also not the first player to declare himself red-shirted. And many more are coming.
There is no solution because there is no governing body empowered to implement and enforce a new set of standards. The NCAA is impotent as a governing body when it comes to NIL. It can’t get out of bed in the morning without stepping on a new lawsuit. The Federal government has shown little to no interest in getting involved in this hornet’s nest and the state and locals have no jurisdiction to provide a national solution.
Here are my basics:
1. Since NIL is here to stay, the payments must come directly from the athletic department to the student-athlete. The coaches are going to need to be part of the process. These athletic departments should strive for uniform NIL payments to the players as much as possible. Meaning offensive linemen get X , Defensive backs get Y and Quarterbacks get Z. Unfortunately there will need to be wiggle room to compensate the incredibly gifted players with obvious and justified exponential value. I know, easier said than done. But let’s start somewhere!
2. There must be complete transparency and documentation of the contracts between the school and the student-athletes. Essentially a clearinghouse of contract data. It can remain private from the public but the information needs to be accessible to the interested parties. Hell, all NFL contracts are filed with the league. The data is a valuable tool for all the interested parties.
3. The ability to transfer will be dependent on the terms of the agreement existing between the university and the student-athlete. If a student-athlete wants to opt-out of his or her situation, there could be penalties or recapture of payments based on the structure of the commitment. The transfer portal may be used once by all athletes as the norm. But transfers beyond one should be subject to review with a distinct set of criteria for evaluation. For instance, any time the head coach departs a university the players recruited on his watch are immediately eligible to enter the portal. If coaches break a commitment, their players should have the same rights regardless if they have used their one standard transfer.
Life goes on
Oh, UNLV? Apparently they are going to be just fine. In the first game following Matthew Sluka’s departure, his backup Hajj-Malik Williams stepped in big-time. All Hajj-Malik did was pass for 182 yards, rush for another 119 yards and account for four touchdowns! So UNLV is now 4-0 for the first time since 1976 and still in contention for the CFP 12 team championship.
Hajj-Malik Williams? Turns out he’s a sixth year senior who transferred in from FCS Campbell in January and was just edged out for the QB1 job by Sluka. After the game, it was revealed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Circa Sports CEO, Derek Stevens, had expressed an interest in his casino putting up the $100,000 to keep Sluka. Well, Ricky White the UNLV wide receiver who caught a season high ten catches for 127 yards and two TDs from Williams in the Fresno State game had a better idea. Said White, “I would ask that somebody reach out to the Circa CEO and ask him, with that $100,000 that he wanted to donate, could he give it to our O-line please.”
Amen Ricky, amen.