UNLV QB Matt Sluka Quits Team After Three Games Due To Broken Promises, Shocking The College Football World

Just when you thought you’d seen it all in college football, UNLV quarterback Matt Sluka decided that because of promises that weren’t being upheld off-the-field, he would no longer play for the team this season. 

In a stunning announcement late Tuesday night on the West Coast, the Rebels quarterback took to social media to announce that he would be taking a redshirt season. This comes after UNLV started the season 3-0, and was making waves under Barry Odom in the early portion of the 2024 season. 

In the world of NIL and players being paid for their services on the field, we have reached a new point in college football when the starting quarterback of a team decides to leave the team to potentially pursue better options, and preserve his redshirt year.  

“I decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing any additional games this season,” Matthew Sluka announced on social media. “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”

The graduate transfer from Holy Cross has been a catalyst to the 3-0 start for UNLV this season, with 7 total touchdowns in three games. If he were to have played this weekend against Fresno State, he would not have been eligible to transfer to another school. 

But the bigger story is why he is stepping away from the UNLV program, which is seemingly tied to broken promises when it comes to how much NIL money he would be making with the program. In a statement released late on Tuesday night, the quarterback did not hold back on why he will no longer play this season for UNLV. 

Simply put, there were allegedly some promises made to Sluka in terms of his transfer to UNLV, and he feels as though they have not been met, and wouldn’t be met in the future. 

Sluka made a business decision that will now affect his future, along with UNLV. 

If It Was Because Of NIL, We Have A Massive Problem With UNLV, Sluka

This is a mess for the sport of college football, given that Sluka is essentially quitting on his team just three games into the season for purposes related to compensation. 

According to one report on Wednesday morning, the UNLV quarterback has been approached with offers that would lead to more money for the quarterback. 

If this is the case, and the folks at UNLV promised him a certain amount of money, or at least some type of guarantee that was not fulfilled, we are now dealing with a whole new situation. Also, if Sluka had been offered more money from other teams to not destroy his body for UNLV and transfer to another school once the season ends, this is the clearest form of tampering we have seen in college football since the inception of NIL. 

UNLV QB Matt Sluka has decided to leave the team after three games, due to broken promises regarding NIL and other aspects (Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It’s one thing for a player and collective to have disagreements over how much money they are going to be paid for the season. But it’s clear that someone is at fault from a financial or contractual standpoint, that has not come to fruition. 

Either way, this is a horrible look for Sluka, even with his explanation as to why he is leaving the program. The obvious narrative will be that he quit on his team, which is true. When he said in the statement that is was clear that ‘these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future’, this feels like the football program balked at his tactics. 

If this is the case, then I expect Barry Odom to discuss this news as honestly as possible, without getting himself into trouble because of the whole ‘Pay For Play’ rules in college athletics. 

This is going to be an interesting story to follow. Email me your thoughts to Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com