Details of UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka’s decision to sit out the remainder of the season due to a monetary NIL (name, image, and likeness) dispute are still trickling out, but one thing is clear: College sports coaches, players, administrators, and agents are eagerly awaiting what happens next.

Sluka, who transferred from Holy Cross this year, announced late Tuesday he will turn this season—what would have been his last of NCAA eligibility—into a redshirt year, despite leading the Rebels to a 3–0 start while passing for 318 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 253 yards and another score. “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled,” he wrote on social media. 

UNLV’s athletic department issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying it interpreted financial demands from Sluka’s agent as a violation of NCAA pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada law.

Sluka’s next steps are unclear, but he would be able to transfer and play one season for another school in 2025, when and where he could potentially make more money. The timing was key for Sluka because NCAA redshirt rules allow players to retain a year of eligibility if they play four games or fewer.

Will More Disgruntled Players Follow?

Will this start a new trend of players sitting out midseason due to NIL? That’s what was on everyone’s mind in the aftermath of Sluka’s situation.

Sluka has particular leverage, given UNLV’s limited financial resources and recruiting depth as a member of the Mountain West Conference. If he knows there will be more money available to him in a few months, there’s nothing stopping him from pursuing that path. Whether a star player at a Power 4 program does something similar still remains to be seen, but Sluka could set a precedent for players putting pressure on schools during the season.

The Sluka-UNLV situation marks yet another new frontier in the complicated workings of NIL. Earlier this year, former Florida quarterback commit Jaden Rashada sued Gators coach Billy Napier and two others over $13.85 million in NIL money he said he was assured but never received. That suit has not been settled.

Another Player Leaves UNLV

On Wednesday afternoon, more news followed: UNLV running back Michael Allen posted that he would join Sluka in walking away from the program. Allen was the team’s fourth-leading rusher and he will also take a redshirt year, preserving a season of college eligibility.

However, Allen then followed up his initial post by saying he was leaving due to on-field opportunities, not NIL.

The Presidents Cup will tee off Thursday at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, and the disruption of LIV Golf on the PGA Tour–operated team event is still being felt after three full seasons for the controversial circuit.

Comprising two 12-man rosters from the U.S. and foreign countries outside of Europe, both squads this week would likely look different without LIV’s presence, particularly on the international side. LIV players remain banned from PGA Tour events, including the Presidents Cup, despite ongoing negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. “There’s just so many moving pieces in that deal,” top Team USA qualifier Scottie Scheffler said. That differs from the Ryder Cup, which is managed by the PGA of America and European Tour and does not have an explicit ban on LIV members.

How We Got Here

The last Presidents Cup before the men’s professional game became fractured was in 2019, when eight players who are now on LIV competed in Australia (five internationals, three Americans), as the Tiger Woods–captained U.S. team came from behind to win 16–14 on the final day. A ninth now-LIV player, Brooks Koepka, made the U.S. team but withdrew due to injury. 

At the 2022 Presidents Cup (delayed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic), top international qualifier Cam Smith was ineligible due to his late-summer move to LIV. So was No. 4 qualifier Joaquín Niemann. With stronger depth to withstand LIV defections (like Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson), the U.S. won 17.5 to 12.5. Comprising 30 available points, players compete as pairs in alternate shot and four-ball matches, as well as head-to-head singles.

While it’s impossible to say which LIV players would have made this year’s Presidents Cup teams under different circumstances, many of those mentioned above would have at least been in the mix. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open, while Niemann and Smith finished second and seventh, respectively, in LIV’s individual standings.

In Canada, the U.S. will be led by the likes of Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, and Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, and Jason Day on the international side.

Northern Mentality

LIV aside, the PGA Tour is gearing up for a big week in Montreal.

With a six-day total capacity crowd of 162,000 expected (practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday), this marks the largest international staging of the event with more than 550,000 square feet of hospitality, and a 2,000-seat first tee stadium. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the honorary chairman of this Presidents Cup, will be at the final round Sunday. 

Topping the premium offerings is the Trophy Club, which includes space inside Royal Montreal’s clubhouse and a two-sided on-course venue with views of the 10th and 11th holes. A single ticket for the weekend costs just under $2,000.