NIL and the NCAA

[EngJack]

As I am sure all of you know already, former Jacks opponent, Matt Sluka has left UNLV over a dispute regarding a verbal offer of $100,000 from one of the assistant coaches prior to the season. The school stated the offer was not valid due to it not coming directly from the head coach.
This brings up an interesting question: do schools and the student athletes sign any sort of deal/contract to have a legal guarantee of how much NIL money they will get? If not, how often will we see a student athlete promised 6 figures and have a very different amount actually come their way?

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...s-verbal-offer

[SlapJack]

This situation is disaster. If anything, I give Sluka the benefit of a doubt. He thought he was going to $X from UNLV. Is he a sure NFL pick? Does he burn his last year of eligibility trying for the 2025 draft? Or redshirt and wait for 2026? He might not have a lot of pay day opportunities to cash in on.

Sluka's Agent: This guy didn't think to double check or follow up with anyone at UNLV since last winter? Dude, this is your job.

UNLV: This isn't just an "assistant coach". That implies it could've been a grad assist. Your Offensive Coordinator made this offer. Before acting like Sluka is trying to blackmail UNLV, did you ask your offensive coordinator if he did in fact make that verbal offer? I'm assuming he did because the response changed to "he's not the head coach and is not authorized". How about working to try to make things right. Maybe try to negotiate a lower number. Payment plans, anything. Sluka didn't choose UNLV because it's a FB mecca known for churning out NFL QB's.

You are 3-0 and ranked for the first time in forever. Next step: alienate our starting QB so he quits the team. Sluka wasn't the sole reason for the 3-0 start, but now they've invited drama and distractions into their program. Look for them to finish .500 at best. Oh, and think of the recruiting battles. I'm sure HS kids and transfers are lining up to come here if there are other options. How about impact on other sports? Think of the time wasted doing damage control in the basketball program reassuring kids that they'll follow up on their NIL money. Looks bad for the UNLV athletic dept all around.

/end rant

[ringthebells]

As I am sure all of you know already, former Jacks opponent, Matt Sluka has left UNLV over a dispute regarding a verbal offer of $100,000 from one of the assistant coaches prior to the season. The school stated the offer was not valid due to it not coming directly from the head coach.
This brings up an interesting question: do schools and the student athletes sign any sort of deal/contract to have a legal guarantee of how much NIL money they will get? If not, how often will we see a student athlete promised 6 figures and have a very different amount actually come their way?

https://www.espn.com/college-footbal...s-verbal-offer

I heard this morning that the school says they paid him what they promised him, but he is now demanding more $$$ because of how well they are doing. If he quits, can the school get their investment back? This could go all sorts of ways.

[JackJD]

It's hard to determine the actual facts. In the two days or so since Sluka announced he was not going to play the remainder of the season for UNLV. Some on the Holy Cross fan message board (Crossports.com) seem to have had contact with Sluka or at least know him quite well. It's unclear whether the NIL transaction was in writing. If it was not in writing, does Sluka have an equitable argument that in reliance on a verbal promise, he went to UNLV and started performing (UNLV off to a 3-0 start, something that school hasn't done in years). Did the school owe him money? I don't know enough about how NIL works (and it appears neighter do UNLV and Sluka).

Sluka appeared twice in Brookings. He's an electric player, one that can never be counted out. The Jacks absolutely leveled him a couple of times and I would have bet he was out of the game only to watch him return a few plays later and rip through a good SDSU defense.

There may be a bright side in this dispute. One would expect that disputes such as this one will lead to clarification of the NIL rules. There likely will be more disputes in the future. Watching from the cheap seats is the all-important fan base which may be showing signs of retreating and shrinking.