Collectibles On SI

Matthew Sluka Exits UNLV: How NIL Has Changed College Sports and Sports Cards

Matthew Sluka's recent departure from UNLV marks a significant shift in the college football landscape, raising questions about his next move and potential impact on the game.

Adam Palmer

Sep 13, 2024; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; UNLV Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) runs the ball against Kansas Jayhawks defensive end Dean Miller (45) during the first half at Children's Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Sep 13, 2024; Kansas City, Kansas, USA; UNLV Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka (3) runs the ball against Kansas Jayhawks defensive end Dean Miller (45) during the first half at Children's Mercy Park. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

NIL has changed the landscape of college sports. One of the biggest stories in 2024 college football will likely be that the starting quarterback for the 3-0 UNLV Rebels is going to use his redshirt and sit out the rest of the season.

Wednesday he put out a statement about the situation and more details about his NIL deal have come to light which are the cause of the friction with the team.

College cards within sports cards have never been at the top of collectors' lists. Before NIL, players would only receive their first Panini card for basketball or football after being drafted. This meant players didn’t have any cards until they entered the league.

Then, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) came into play, and college sports, along with sports cards, changed forever. Now, companies like Topps and Panini could both make cards of players while they were still in college.

In 2021, Topps re-entered the college game, but the cards were unlicensed for football and basketball. Bryce Young and CJ Stroud had college cards made by Topps, but the jerseys were photoshopped to remove all the logos.

After a year of development, Topps started releasing Bowman football and basketball cards that were fully licensed. In these early sets, we saw Caitlin Clark’s first card while she was still playing for Iowa, and Victor Wembanyama, who wasn’t technically in college but appeared in his French team's jersey. His card was released before he was drafted.

Over the summer, Panini announced it would become the exclusive partner for three of the biggest sports schools in the country: Texas, Ohio State, and Nebraska.

Throughout this season, Panini has focused some of its marketing efforts on promoting more NIL cards each week.

Topps has transformed a specific type of card that no one really cared about and made it one that could rival any given player’s rookie card.

The big question is whether any of these college cards will become the predominant “rookie cards” for players to own. Will it be Panini or Topps that claims the title of the top card?

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Adam Palmer
ADAM PALMER

Adam has been a sports content creator since 2016, initially focusing on creating sports-related graphics for his Instagram page. In 2018, he transitioned to writing and podcasting about sports cards. Since then, he has worked both independently and with companies within the industry, producing podcasts, videos, and written content on sports cards.

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