ESPN Host Does Not Hold Back When Sharing Opinion on Matthew Sluka Situation

An ESPN host did not mince his words when talking about the NIL situation between Matthew Sluka and UNLV.

Jan 1, 2024; Pasadena, CA, USA; Rece Davis on the ESPN College Gameday set at the 2024 Rose Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Rose Bowl. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Quarterback Matthew Sluka has been the center of attention in the college football NIL world the last few days.

Last week, the UNLV starting quarterback announced that he would be sitting out the remainder of the season and redshirting. It shocked everyone as the Rebels had gotten off to a 3-0 start with the Holy Cross transfer leading the offense.

As more details emerged about what led to Sluka’s decision to not play anymore this season trickled out, it became evident what happened. It was an NIL deal gone awry.

For all of the good that NIL has brought to collegiate sports, there are some negatives. We have seen players have to transfer because of agents attempting to use back channels or deals not being followed through on.

In Sluka’s case, it sounded as if there was some sort of discussion in place, but it was nothing more than a handshake agreement. It was a he said, she said moment as there wasn’t anything concrete in writing.

Plenty of opinions have been shared on the matter, as some prominent coaches, such as Brian Kelly at LSU and Kirby Smart at Georgia, weighed in.

Over the weekend, another prominent voice in the college football world offered his opinion. ESPN host Rece Davis, during a segment on College GameDay, did not hold back when sharing his thoughts.

He believes that Sluka was in the wrong deserting his teammates in this fashion for a mistake he made.

“It is probably true that he was promised something, likely, and it was not delivered. That’s likely true. It is obviously true he did not have it in writing. If you make a dumb mistake in life, if I do, if Matthew Sluka does, or whoever, sometimes you have to wear that, man. And going in there and expecting something without writing and then they don’t give it to you, you can’t just bail on the team. You’ve gotta wear the fastball in the ribs sometimes and go ‘that was my bad,'” Davis said, via Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing.

Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit shared opinions on the matter as well, wondering how the short-term financial gain will impact Sluka’s long-term value.

Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit follow up on the NIL discussion. pic.twitter.com/xXitUoIxTW

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2024

However, UNLV did not escape without criticism.

Davis added that it was “despicable” that someone at the school or within the football program would have made a promise to the young quarterback that was not fulfilled.

Something will have to be done to help regulate these deals to help protect not only the players but the schools as well. 

In this situation, a verbal agreement of $100,000 was agreed upon according to Sluka’s father and agent, Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports. Blueprint Sports and Entertainment, the school’s NIL collective, denied the claims in a statement.