In the wake of the Matthew Sluka brouhaha, one question started to ruminate: when will this come to college basketball? There’s always a trickle-down, and this snafu is no different. If the starting quarterback for an undefeated UNLV club can leave the team to preserve his redshirt amid an unprecedented NIL whodunit, then everything is on the table in this new era of college athletics.
“This is a lot more common than you think,” said Dan Poneman, who is hailed as one of the most influential NBA/NIL agents in the space. “Usually, players have to take it on the chin. This is the first time I’ve seen someone take a stand midseason.”
Money is the centerpiece of a relationship gone astray between Sluka and UNLV football. ESPN reported that Sluka was verbally promised a minimum of $100,000 from a UNLV assistant coach. Multiple sources told 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 NIL agent told CBS Sports that Sluka’s camp or agent Marcus Cromartie not having an agreement in writing was “catastrophic.”
“It seems what has happened was there was a verbal promise to the agent and there would be a contract following when the kid got on campus and the contract never came,” Poneman says. “I’ve seen this happen. If that’s the case, I believe the player is in the right. I see people dragging the agent and I don’t think that’s fair. As an agent, it’s easy to sit on my high horse and go, ‘I’m the best, I would never do that.’ But the reality is, up until this year, collectives were not allowed to give contracts before players got on campus and even when that rule was changed, a lot of schools really dig their heels in and still insist that they won’t give out contracts until you get on campus.
…
..
