UNLV senior Matthew Sluka raised many eyebrows in college football after his sudden decision to resist playing any upcoming games in the college football season after playing in three games. He spent four seasons of his college career at the Holy Cross. After which, he said that he joined UNLV based on certain “representations” offered to him, which he didn’t receive after enrolling. Internet got divided after it. His family is coming to support him, while some analysts hint at a fall play behind this.

Sluka announced on Wednesday that he’s going to redshirt, and you won’t watch him play any of the 2024 college football season games. He said that because of some unfulfilled commitments, he chose to step out of the program. Naturally, this is the biggest news right now. After that, college football analyst Carl Reed Jr. shared an ‘X’ post where he mentioned that all the commitments for UNLV QB Matthew Sluka “were completely met.” Quoting a source, Reed Jr. said that the situation for Sluka at the Rebels changed after the family hired an agent. Now, per the source, they feel that “his market value has increased.” That’s not the end. Matthew Sluka’s brother, Rob Sluka, has denied these claims, commenting, “None of that is true.”

All financial commitments for UNLV QB Matthew Sluka were completely met.

But after wins against KU and Houston, Sluka’s family hired an agent and they collectively feel that his market value has increased, per source. pic.twitter.com/CKpjDNxMxK

— Carl Reed Jr. (@CoachReedLive) September 25, 2024

Well, there are two sides to every story, and that holds really true for this one. A fan highlighted that, saying, “This Matthew Sluka story has gotten wild. Carl Reed speaks for Brendan Marion and UNLV; Rob Sluka is Matthew’s brother. This isn’t a gray area thing—someone is lying.” Who is he pointing at?

It’s being said that if he’s telling the truth and UNLV breached his NIL contract, there are fewer chances of this being true. Another narrative that is catching attention is that Sluka made this decision after his valuable performance in the game against Kansas and Houston, which led to an increased market value, possibly pointed out by his agent. There is a chance that he will flip to another program that might have offered a better deal. But it’s important to note that these are all rumors spreading all over the place. They aren’t facts. Besides that, let’s look at Sluka’s side of the story.

What did Matthew Sluka state as the reason behind his leave

Marcus Cromartie, Matthew Sluka’s NIL agent, recently shared an inside story of this case. Sluka was “verbally promised a minimum of $100,000” by UNLV’s staff members, particularly an assistant coach, who promised this amount if he transferred to UNLV. Cromartie said that this agreement was not fulfilled, leaving Matthew feeling cheated. In his statement, Sluka said, “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled.” He added, “Despite discussions, it became clear that 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.”

While there is news about the reasons, it is still unclear. We have gotten information from ‘sources’ and ‘denials’ from family members, but officially, nothing has been clarified. This development will naturally antagonize the critics of the NIL landscape as college programs, especially in this case, will have their whole season turned upside down. Sluka is utilizing NCAA redshirt rules. These rules wouldn’t have come into the picture had Sluka featured in more than four games this season.

The loss for UNLC can be understood from the fact that Sluka had led the Rebels to a 3-0 start. One of his remarkable performances this season was in a game against Kansas, where Sluka rushed for 124 yards and also threw a touchdown pass. In total, Sluka has completed 43.8 percent of his passes till the time he played in this season, but he has thrown for 318 yards, along with six touchdowns.

At the Holy Cross, Sluka recorded quite cool stats during the 2022 season. He threw for 2491 yards and secured 26 touchdowns, with four interceptions, along with rushing for 1234 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the 2023 season, his game was on point with 1723 yards, and 20 touchdowns. It’s evident that Sluka was a key player for UNLV, and it’s going to be a tough season for them after losing him.