XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, rec.sport.football.college, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.misc   
   From: lol@unlv.edu   
      
   Barry Odom was up early on Wednesday. He'd already digested the news -- as   
   well as he could -- that his starting quarterback, Matthew Sluka, had   
   bailed three games into the season.   
      
   "Thought he had a market value higher than he was making here," UNLV's   
   coach texted in the early morning gloom, at least around the Rebels'   
   football office.   
      
   Sluka -- veteran of one month of FBS football, on-field leader of an   
   undefeated team ranked for the first time in program history with eyes on   
   a College Football Playoff bid -- had taken his talents elsewhere. Sluka   
   will be a redshirt senior in 2025 and can conceivably test the market once   
   again. Leaving before playing four games allows him to keep a redshirt   
   season. His decision is unprecedented in its scope, according to those who   
   have endured the three-year, two-month history of NIL.   
      
   Money -- the allure of it and, depending on which side you talk to,   
   perhaps the unfulfilled delivery of it -- is central to the story that   
   shook college football on Wednesday morning.   
      
   ESPN reported that Sluka was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 from   
   a UNLV assistant coach. Multiple sources tell CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz that   
   Sluka had not received any NIL money from UNLV. A crux of the breakdown   
   was the fact that whatever Sluka believed he was promised by UNLV was not   
   outlined in writing before Sluka arrived as a coveted transfer from Holy   
   Cross.   
      
   One source close to Sluka, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said   
   the only money he received from UNLV was a player stipend.   
      
   An NIL agent described Sluka's camp not having an agreement in writing as   
   "catastrophic."   
      
   Rob Sine, the CEO of Blueprint Sports, which operates UNLV's collective,   
   told CBS Sports it had not agreed to a $100,000 figure with Sluka.   
      
   "We were introduced to the agent less than a month ago for the first time   
   and the agent said he wanted to explore opportunities for his client,"   
   Sine said. "We informed that he was not registered with the state or with   
   the school and that he needed to be so the athlete needed to talk to the   
   coaches directly. There was a discussion via email about $3,000 a month of   
   a recurring payment and then the agent said no we're still discussing,   
   we'll let you know how things progress, don't onboard my athlete onto your   
   program yet. And that was it. All of this happens in the span of less than   
   a couple weeks. We never agreed to $100,000, it was never brought to us   
   that was what the number needed to be. I'm learning about a lot of this   
   like you guys are.   
      
   "The collective is in great shape and has made every payment that it's   
   needed to make and stood up to every obligation we've been contracted to   
   do," Sine said. "Everything we do is contracted, we don't do anything   
   verbally. We have documentation on every deal we do. There was nothing for   
   this guy. He received $3,000 from us this summer and that was it. We took   
   care of that."   
      
   UNLV released a statement Wednesday afternoon, calling demands from   
   Sluka's camp a "violation of NCAA pay-for-play rules."   
      
   "Football player Matthew Sluka's representative made financial demands   
   upon the university and its NIL collective in order to continue playing.   
   UNLV Athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of the NCAA pay-   
   for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law," the statement read. "UNLV   
   does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to implied threats.   
   UNLV has honored all previously agreed-upon scholarships for Matthew   
   Sluka. UNLV has conducted its due diligence and will continue to operate   
   its programs within the framework of NCAA rules and regulations, as well   
   as Nevada state laws."   
      
   Sluka, a native of Long Island, did not profile as a high-level transfer   
   when he left Holy Cross, ranking as the No. 32 quarterback in the portal,   
   per 247Sports. The players at the top of that list -- Cam Ward, Will   
   Howard, Riley Leonard -- most likely had NIL agreements in writing, or at   
   least their agents would have pushed for it.   
      
   In a previous interview with CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello explaining his   
      
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