NIL rears its ugly head as quarterback of undefeated UNLV decides to sit out season

We are truly living in a simulation. For the first time since Randall Cunningham was punting and throwing for them, the UNLV Rebels are part of the national conversation in major college football. They are 3-0 on the season with wins over Houston and Kansas in the non-conference. Head coach Barry Odom is one of the best candidates out there and this team could make the expanded playoff.

Unfortunately, the wonderful world of NIL reared its ugly head in Las Vegas recently. Holy Cross transfer quarterback Matthew Sluka has opted to redshirt the rest of the season, despite a 3-0 start to the year, over some NIL promises that were later reneged. Heading into this week of the season, UNLV was my pick to win the Mountain West, the Group of Five and make the College Football Playoff.

Late into the night on Tuesday, Sluka announced his intentions of sitting out the rest of this season.

"I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this season. 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 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."

UNLV has several huge games coming up, including Fresno State this weekend and Syracuse in two.

What UNLV booster let Sluka down, and how badly will this impact Odom's 2025 coaching prospects?

Matthew Sluka opts out for rest of UNLV's 2024 season over some NIL

For the amount of hours I have spent watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, where's the money, Guy Fieri? I feel like I am Jerry Tarkanian chewing on a towel inside of the Mack Center. I would rather chew tinfoil than towels because while I am a Dawg, I am not a dog. Factor in UNLV being on the fence about leaving the Mountain West for the revamped Pac-12, and the timing of it could not possibly be worse.

UNLV may be better known for its men's basketball program, but it was always going to be the football program, or the promise of what it could be, that would get the Rebels into the Power Five. Because of its location in Las Vegas, the potential upside is always there. Unfortunately, Las Vegas tends to attract some rather sleazy individuals, given the nature open which the city was actually built upon.

At this point, it would not shock me if Sluka sits out the rest of this season and transfers to James Madison to go play for his former Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney. At JMU, Sluka and the Dukes can win the Group of Five and make the playoff next year. Had it not been for NIL promises, maybe that is where he would go? UNLV had a good team last year, but needed to replace Jayden Maiava.

As for Odom, Sluka's decision shines a menacing spotlight on his program. What else is going on? We know that he failed leading his alma mater's program of Missouri previously. We also know that he was a tremendous defensive coordinator at Arkansas under Sam Pittman. The big question is if UNLV will be able to stay the course to have a spectacular season. However, this is no longer a playoff team.

In the four years we have had NIL in college athletics, I cannot say I have ever seen anything like this.