ROSEMONT, Ill. – During a phone conversation in December, a UNLV assistant coach made a splash on quarterback Matthew Sluka: Come play here and we’ll pay you $100,000.
That at least according to Sluka’s agent Marcus Cromartie.
Nine months later, with the Rebels undefeated, ranked in the top 25 and, currently, the No. 5 favorite to claim a spot in the College Football Playoff, Sluka is no longer a part of the team after I was paid the promised amount.
The decision shocked college athletes at a critical time in the industry and in a timely week: Sports leaders, the commissioners of the Division I conference and NCAA president Charlie Baker, gathered on Wednesday and Thursday for their annual meeting and year at the Big Ten headquarters in Chicago.
The meeting takes place before an important time: On Thursday, the NCAA, power conferences and lawyers must submit a brief letter to the House of Antitrust, the agreement of billions of dollars that will involve the game in revenue directly with athletes and, perhaps most because of this situation, provide transparency and binding agreements directly with schools.
Both sides involved in the UNLV situation — Sluka’s representative and UNLV — spoke. What emerges is a rare reality in the volatile and complex world of college sports where schools rely on third parties and boosters to support football teams: Not everyone is on the same page.
“It starts with full transparency,” said Cromartie, the Equity Sports agent who represents Sluka. “We have to allow these discussions and these written agreements to happen and not put too many rules on them. The school and the coaches are still talking but you let someone else [collectives] to pay for it, hoping that they will get money from the boosters. It’s very messy.”
Although Sluka was promised a contract of $ 100,000 NIL from the coaches, according to Cromartie, the team did not make such an agreement, said Rob Sine, CEO of Blueprint Sports, which deals with the UNLV team. The team made a one-time payment of $3,000 to Sluka. As recently as last weekend, union officials were negotiating a $3,000 monthly salary before the quarterback’s decision this week to redshirt and leave the team (players can compete up to the playoffs four at the same time and they still use redshirt).
“The total may not have been agreed upon at $100,000 but the coaches agreed,” Cromartie told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the school has released a statement disputing that Sluka’s agent made financial demands that it describes as a violation of the NCAA’s anti-pay-to-play rules.
“UNLV does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to the threats made,” the school said. “UNLV has honored all previously agreed upon scholarships for Matthew Sluka.”
This issue started during Sluka’s employment.
In December, the assistant coach made a commitment to Sluka, Cromartie said. Sluka’s recruiter was UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. The quarterback arrived on campus this summer and began competing in preseason camp before Cromartie began “pressuring” the coaches for a $100,000 deal.
He then turned to the group, introducing himself to Sine in an email in late August. Sine refused to speak to Cromartie because he is not a licensed attorney in the state of Nevada and told him to speak directly to the school and coaching staff instead.
Since he had a year of eligibility and did not use his redshirt, Sluka decided that, without payment, he would not play.
“If Matt didn’t have another year of eligibility, he would have stayed,” Cromartie said.
All this is happening with the Rebels during their best start in years. They are 3-0 against conference powerhouses Kansas and Houston, host Fresno State this Saturday and meet Syracuse in another conference game on Oct. 4. They were ranked for the first time since the program moved to Division I in 1978.
Head coach Barry Odom, in his second season, has UNLV in the playoff race. The top-five conference championship team earns a spot in the new 12-team field. A dual-threat QB transfer from FCS Holy Cross, Sluka leads the team in rushing (253 yards) and passing (318) and has scored six touchdowns.
When asked if Sluka will return to the team, Cromartie said, “It’s up to Barry Odom. Matt is open to wanting to play football, but $3,000 a month for the next four months is not fair. ”
Sluka has been removed from the show’s online menu.
The situation shines a light, or maybe a shadow, on the unregulated world of college football recruiting since the implementation of the NIL in July 2021, when the NCAA lifted the rules for players to receive compensation from contracts and agreements. business. As a means of recruiting and retaining players, boosters pool millions of their dollars to pay players what are, in effect, salaries.
The landscape may change soon.
The NCAA and the power players in May reached an agreement with the lawyers of the case of the House – which they initially accused of the late payment of the NIL – for a solution that includes the method of sharing the revenue of the athletes. At the basis of the agreement are third-party payments from the boosters, the idea that the leaders of the power conference hope to settle the limits or eliminate them completely.
However, in a hearing last month, US District Judge Claudia Wilken, who is presiding over the California case, did not approve the settlement, opting for a settlement provision that governs and limits booster charges. House lawmakers expect to file a brief Thursday to clarify the provision.
The move provides a way for schools to pay athletes millions of dollars directly as part of contracts with schools and requires third-party payments or boosters to reach so-called “fair market values” and transfer new erasure and activation process – system. explained in this Yahoo Sports story.
After Wednesday’s meeting in Chicago, Baker said he believed the House would remain in session to prevent situations like the one at UNLV, although he did not comment on the case specifically.
Under the settlement, all agreements will be transparent.
He said: “People will know what everyone is getting, which until now, you have to believe whoever is talking to you.” “The number of student-athletes I’ve talked to who entered the stadium because of a false promise is significant.
“The main point to solve this problem is to create a structure that will be transparent where people will have responsibilities and assignments and responsibilities and responsibilities. I have said about a year now, the main relationship in this matter should be between of schools and student-athletes.”
The NCAA’s current guidelines do not address many issues related to NIL payments, and the organization has halted many operational and investigative issues related to the issue as it has been hampered by court decisions. For example, a Tennessee court order allows teams to negotiate with athletes before signing them. Some also interpret the decision as allowing teams to sign athletes to contracts before they register.
Cromartie says Sluka didn’t sign the agreement before enrolling because of these vague rules.
He said: “People say, ‘Why didn’t they sign anything?’ “You can’t sign anything until you register.”
Meanwhile, UNLV is embroiled in a different unfolding saga: The school is in the middle of a conference reorganization in the Pac-12’s attempt to rebuild the league by poaching Mountain West programs. The Pac-12 has already agreed to terms with five Mountain West schools and has given UNLV a term sheet.
The school continues to explore opportunities while Mountain West makes a concerted effort to retain it. The forum is offering a new type of membership deal on its seven programs with huge sign-up bonuses. Agreements are binding only when all seven sign them.
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