UNLV is claiming former quarterback Matt Sulka is bluffing after his shocking decision to leave the program over a $100,000 NIL dispute.
“I thought his market value was higher than what he was making here,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. He told CBS.
After Sulka claimed UNLV had not paid him his six-figure compensation, the Rebels athletic program and the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) organization argue that Sulka's actions were rather an attempt to capitalize on a strong start and receive more money than was previously negotiated.
The quarterback officially announced his departure late Tuesday night, making it one of the craziest NIL news stories in the new era of college sports.
Surka Camp Filed a complaint with ESPN After agreeing to transfer from Holy Cross, he never received any of the $100,000 he negotiated with his assistants and only received $3,000 in relocation benefits.
The quarterback's camp alleges that UNLV instead offered him $3,000 over four months, which was $88,000 less than the original proposal.
They maintained that all they were asking for was the amount discussed.
But UNLV characterized Sulka's actions as financially motivated and said it honored “pre-agreed-upon scholarships.”
“Representatives of football player Matthew Sulka have made financial demands to the university and its NIL organization in order to continue playing.” The UNLV athletic department said in a statement Wednesday afternoon:“UNLV Athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of NCAA pay-for-play rules and Nevada state law. UNLV has not engaged in such activities and will not respond to implied threats. UNLV has fulfilled all previously agreed-upon scholarships for Matthew Sulka.”
“UNLV has conducted its due diligence and will continue to operate its program within the framework of NCAA rules and regulations and Nevada state law.”
A key point in this discussion is comparing what was promised verbally with what was actually formalized in writing.
Matt's father, Bob Sulka, He told ESPN Odom said in a phone conversation that the $100,000 offer doesn't stand because it came from offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, not him.
“Until he got on campus, there was nothing connecting him to us other than a handshake and a 'Yeah, I'm going,'” Odom previously told CBS. “That was the rule back then.”
“We're thrilled to be working with UNLV to bring this to the NBA,” said Rob Sine, CEO of Blueprint Sports, which runs UNLV's NIL Collective. Friends of UNILVtold CBS that he had not agreed to the $100,000 offered by Sulka's campaign and that he had made all of his promised payments.
He told ESPN that the organization paid Sulka $3,000 for his appearances this summer.
“It was less than a month ago that I was first introduced to the agent, who said he wanted to explore opportunities for my client,” Sain told CBS. “We told him he needed to register because he wasn't registered with the state or school, so the player needed to speak to a coach in person. We discussed a recurring payment of $3,000 a month via email, but the agent then said, we're still in discussions, I'll let you know how it goes, please don't commit my player to your program yet, and that was it. All of this happened in less than two weeks. We never agreed on $100,000, and the amount we needed was never offered. Like all of you, I'm still learning a lot about this.”
“The union is in great shape, we've made all the payments we need to, and we've met all of our contractual obligations. Everything we do is contractual, nothing is verbal. Every transaction we make has documentation. This guy had nothing. He just took $3,000 from us this summer and that's it. We took care of it.”
Friends of UNILV released a statement saying they had not made any “formal” offers to the quarterback.
“To be clear, no NIL offer was made to Mr. Sulka during the recruitment process.” The statement read:“Furthermore, while he was part of the team, Friends of UNILV did not finalize or agree to any offers for NIL, other than a community engagement event completed over the summer.
“Blueprint Sports and Friends of UNILV take our commitments very seriously and we want to emphasize that we have adhered to all of our contracts with Friends of UNILV this season and have not violated any agreements with Mr. Sulka.”
As the two sides tried to find a middle ground, Sulka offered UNLV one contract worth less than half of the $100,000, according to CBS, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement and the undefeated Rebels are now without their starting quarterback.
Sulka will now have the opportunity to sign with another program and retain his eligibility.
“I committed to attending UNLV, but after I enrolled, that commitment wasn't kept.” Sulka posted on social media.“Despite discussions, it has become clear that these commitments will not be fulfilled in the future. We wish our teammates the best of luck this season and wish the program continued success.”
Sulka's departure has already caused controversy, with the Rebels falling from championship favorites to underdogs before returning to two-point favorites on ESPN Betting in the last 24 hours or so.
