Hey there,

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s a lot of drama going on at UNLV right now, and it’s all related to their starting QB allegedly not receiving NIL compensation. Right now, the facts are still sparse, but that didn’t stop us from putting on our detective hat to see what’s really going on.

That’s why today, we’re breaking down the story piece by piece. From there, we can tie it together with the complex business realities currently facing the college sports world. The UNLV saga is but one example of a bigger, more pressing problem facing the NIL “wild west” right now – many NIL contracts are built on nothing more than a handshake promise.

— Cole, Justin and Collin

UNLV and the Grey Area of Verbal NIL Agreements

About halfway through last week the college football world witnessed one of the most dramatic NIL stories I’ve seen to date. It revolved around UNLV’s starting quarterback, Matthew Sluka, who announced on Wednesday that he’ll be taking a redshirt year after playing three games for the Rebels. His reasoning? NIL.

“I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled,” he said, “Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future.”

So… what’s going on with UNLV? Who’s in the right? Is anything illegal happening here? And most importantly…what can we learn from this saga about how NIL business and contracts work? We’re going to break it all down right now.

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