Colorado’s Travis Hunter Offers Advice to Ex-UNLV Star Matthew Sluka Amid NIL Saga

Travis Hunter had interesting comments about Matthew Sluka's NIL situation with UNLV.

Sep 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Omarion Miller (4) celebrates with wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) after a touchdown during the first half against the Baylor Bears at Folsom Field. / Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

About a short week ago, UNLV's starting quarterback, Matthew Sluka, decided to sit out the remainder of the year and keep his final year of eligibility.

The news came as a surprising one. Sluka noted that he hadn't received the NIL money his agent said he had been promised when he committed to UNLV in January.

Sluka told UNLV that if he weren't going to get that money, he'd walk out. The quarterback, who led UNLV to a 3-0 start, the first in 40 years, did just that.

This is the name of the game now, and with no end in sight, college fans should get used to seeing things like this happen.

Sluka believed he would receive $100,000 in NIL funds, just as he was told in a phone call during his recruitment. However, there never seemed to be a written agreement on that.

Technically, there isn't allowed to be one, either. The NCAA doesn't allow school's to promise an NIL deal to aid an athlete's commitment, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Nonetheless, Sluka walked away from the program and will now sit at home while he could be on the field.

From his perspective, was that the right one? Colorado star Travis Hunter, who's figured to be one of the top NIL earners in the growing space, doesn't think so.

"Buddy, if I'm you, I'm trying to get to the NFL," Hunter said on the "Travis Hunter Show". "NIL can wait. I know it happened to a lot of your teammates, but I'm out there ballin' on that field. I need all of the film I can get. Every piece of bit of the film. ... It's not about the NIL, it's about the NFL. Because I know if I would have went to go transfer somewhere else, could have got a major amount of money, but it ain't about the money. It's about getting to the NFL. The NFL going to set you for life. NIL can only set you for a moment."

Hunter's comments are fair, as Sluka could've been putting together tape for evaluators. However, unlike Hunter, he's not a sure thing to be in the league one day.

Colorado's all-world two-way guy could make these comments because, ultimately, he knows he's waiting on millions of dollars.

Barring anything drastic happening, Hunter will be an NFL star and likely make more than $200 million in his career.

Some of his points are more than valid, but he might not be the right messenger.