L'UNLV rigetta la proposta di Circa di mantenere il quarterback Sluka nel campus
L'Università del Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) ha rifiutato un'offerta di $100,000 da parte del Circa Resort & Casino per trattenere il quarterback Matthew Sluka con la squadra.
Di recente, Sluka ha annunciato la sua decisione di saltare il resto della stagione 2024, riscattare l'anno e valutare le opzioni di trasferimento poiché l'UNLV non ha onorato una promessa di pagamento di $100,000 legata al nome, all'immagine e alla somiglianza (NIL), come rivelato dal suo agente, Marcus Cromartie. Cromartie ha affermato che l'offerta è stata fatta da un assistente allenatore non specificato dell'UNLV per convincere Sluka a unirsi alla squadra dopo il suo periodo a Holy Cross nel 2023.
A livello professionale, il CEO del Circa Derek Stevens e il Vice Presidente delle Operazioni Mike Palm hanno dibattuto la questione e hanno concluso che sarebbe valsa la pena spendere $100,000 per tenere Sluka nella maglia dei Rebels, come riportato dal Las Review-Journal. Palm ha contattato l'università e l'UNLV ha confermato la conversazione, ma è stata breve poiché Sluka aveva già deciso di passare oltre, come dichiarato dal giornale.
Oltre al Circa, Stevens sovrintende al D Las Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino e Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
La mossa astuta del Circa
Although Circa's attempt to keep Sluka with UNLV was unsuccessful, it was still a commendable effort from Stevens' perspective.
With a 3-0 start to the 2024 season and wins against Big 12 opponents, UNLV harbored hopes of being the Group of 5 representative in the expanded College Football Playoff (CFP). Under the expanded 12-team CFP format, five slots are reserved for the five most prominent conference champions, and a non-Power 4 team is assured a place in the field, likely the Mountain West team, which is considered to be stronger than other Group of 5 conferences.
UNLV football has experienced a significant resurgence under head coach Barry Odom, and local curiosity and support for the team have been growing, making Circa's move to try and keep Sluka with the school a smart one, given the high stakes of the current season.
Il lato oscuro del NIL
Some analysts attribute Sluka's departure from UNLV to the negative consequences of the NIL era. Three years ago, the NCAA permitted athlete compensation, a significant advantage for athletes in revenue-generating sports like football and men's basketball.
The NIL money has been used by schools to lure away competitors' players, leading to the explosion of the transfer portal in current college sports. However, this also indicates the necessity for schools and patrons to fulfill their financial commitments to players, which Sluka claimed wasn't the case at UNLV.
“My decision to enroll at UNLV was based on commitments made to me that were not upheld,” Sluka wrote on X. “Despite negotiations, it became clear that these commitments would not be honored in the future.”
After the news of UNLV's failure to honor their promised NIL payment broke, various sports news outlets picked up the story. The university's inability to meet their financial obligations to Matthew Sluka could potentially dissuade future athletes from committing to UNLV.
In light of this situation, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas's handling of NIL payments is now a topic of discussion in the sports news circuit.
