“What the hell happened”: Matthew Sluka’s father Bob drops blunt reaction to UNLV QB’s decision to redshirt

Matthew Sluka announced on his Twitter account that he will not be playing any more games for UNLV this season.

He is choosing to redshirt this season because, as he claims, UNLV did not uphold certain representations. In his statement, he said:

"I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the fiture. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program."

Although Matthew Sluka did not elaborate further on his departure, his father Bob Sluka did. He told ESPN that his son's agents agreed to an NIL deal with the school back in February, but never received payments despite several requests.

He said that UNLV never asked for adjustments to the deal and simply never sent the payments. Bob Sluka expressed confusion, not knowing why the school did not uphold the deal. He said:

"We have no idea what the hell happened."

Matthew Sluka chooses to redshirt this season

Matthew Sluka, who had transferred to UNLV after previously playing for the Holy Cross Crusaders, decided that since the NIL deal was not upheld, he would not play any more games for the Rebels this season. He is redshirting the rest of the season.

NCAA rules indicate that players can retain a year of eligibility if they play four or fewer games in a season. Sluka had only appeared in three games so far this season, so he still had time to redshirt.

Sluka could renegotiate his deal with UNLV, which seems unlikely, or he could use his last year of eligibility with another school.

How does Matthew Sluka leaving affect UNLV?

With Matthew Sluka redshirting, the Rebels will need a new quarterback. He had led the Rebels to a 3-0 record to start the year. He completed 21 of 48 passing attempts, threw for 318 yards and six touchdowns, and had a rushing touchdown.

With Sluka out of the lineup for the Rebels, Hajj-Malik Williams is the most likely replacement. Williams is a transfer from Campbell who had 232 completions on 329 attempts last season, 2604 passing yards, and 19 passing touchdowns.

He had been with Campbell since 2019 before transferring and is in his final season of NCAA eligibility.