PAY ME BIG NIL MONEY OR I'LL LEAVE AT 3-0 — WELCOME TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2024

Players want results from new riches, and when Tennessee hands $8 million to a quarterback, UNLV can forget the 12-team playoff when Matthew Sluka leaves a 3-0 program without receiving $100,000

     Can we be certain if college football is alive or dead? The quarterback at UNLV has left the program, after a 3-0 start with national tournament implications, because he wasn’t paid $100,000 upon leaving Holy Cross. Matthew Sluka received only $3,000 for moving expenses, according to his NIL agent. With that amount, he wouldn’t survive an hour on the Strip.

     So off Sluka goes, making UNLV feel like scum — not a new undertone — when he transfers again to a larger program. His departure reminds us the sport is ruled by a handful of massive programs committed to spending huge money for players. UNLV made the verbal offer via offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who wasn’t speaking for the university, said coach Barry Odom. At least Jerry Tarkanian paid up through his henchmen and provided hot-tub visits with convicted fixers.

     We should assume a monster team would leap higher than Kirk Herbstreit with his traveling dog — if it hasn’t made a deal already — for a passer who has thrown for six touchdowns while rushing for 286 yards and a score. Sluka beat ranked Kansas with a 75-yard drive in the final minutes. The Rebels were positioned to become a Group of 5 entry that gains automatic admittance to the 12-team postseason. Instead, they wave goodbye to their leader in late September, who wrote on X that he will use his redshirt season and reappear elsewhere in 2025.

     “I will not be playing in any additional games this season. I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled,” Sluka posted. “Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”

     The university called lawyers. “UNLV Athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of the NCAA pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law,” a statement said. “UNLV does not engage in such activity, nor does it respond to implied threats. UNLV has honored all previously agreed-upon scholarships for Matthew Sluka. UNLV has conducted its due diligence and will continue to operate its programs within the framework of NCAA rules and regulations, as well as Nevada state laws.”

     Forget any dreams of the Rebels playing for major wins. Odom had said: “The way that things are set up, it presents an opportunity to be in the 12-team playoff. Why not be the voice of it? We’re aligned in what we hear, say, think and do — and here are the reasons why we practice how we do, here’s the outcome that we’re trying to achieve.” This is a year when Northern Illinois went to Notre Dame and made Touchdown Jesus pout. Memphis beat Florida State. There are opportunities for the Group of 5. But not when Sluka gets up and leaves without proper reimbursements.

     Assuming Sluka doesn’t reach an UNLV agreement, with his father involved, please realize this is the new universe of a sport that once offered nothing more than a full scholarship ride. Of all the football religion keepers in the southeast part of America, Tennessee is making fans pay for the players. Ticket prices are increasing by 14.5 percent — including a 10 percent talent fee for athletes. The Volunteers are smelling a national championship and know 15,000 people are on a waiting list. Why not?

     “In this new era, it’s going to get a lot more expensive. But there’s also going to be a closer relationship between resources and competition than there ever has been before. And our biggest asset is our fan base,” athletics director Danny White said. “It’s really a $30 million-plus math problem. We’re not just offloading it to our fans. We are asking them to help us with a portion of it.”

     Offloading? Rich people who follow programs have no problem offloading money to stars who will bring glory in January. Players not only are being paid, at long last, but they are overriding the new system. Names, Images and Likenesses aren’t merely a legal slogan. The NILs can be maneuvered, even in mid-season. Or in high school.

     Two years ago, Tennessee recruited 6-6 quarterback Nico Iamaleava after he finished at Downey Warren in southern California. He was the country’s No. 1 prep player and signed in Knoxville for $8 million. This season, he has thrown for seven touchdowns and run for another as his team is ranked fifth nationally. On Oct. 19, Alabama comes to 101,915-seat Neyland Stadium, where the Vols have a long sellout streak. Win that. Then win at Georgia on Nov. 16.

     Nico will be underpaid, at that point.

     So why do you think Sluka and his father want money? “We have no idea what the hell happened,” Bob Sluka told ESPN. “No one can explain this. Why would you let your starting quarterback walk out of the building? We did not ask for a penny more than what was agreed upon (this winter).

     “They keep deferring — ‘We don't know. You have to wait.’ Then it was like, ‘We're going to give him game checks.’ So we're like, ‘OK, great.’ We did not ask for a single dollar (more). At one point, we are out of pocket for him to be there, because his expenses to live there weren't even being covered.”

     Tennessee is serious about offers of millions. UNLV is not.

     Welcome to what is alive about college football and what is dead.

     ###

     Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.