No Pay, No Play

[Moriarty]

College QB walks away because of unmet promises … Strange situation out at UNLV where starting QB Matt Sluka has walked away from the 3-0 and almost ranked Runnin’ Rebels because he claims ‘certain representations were not being met.’ Translated, according to Sluka, promises made his NIL opportunities with the program when he transferred were not being fulfilled. Sluka was a FCS All-American at Holy Cross before transferring to UNLV this past winter, although he has always been more of a running QB than a pure passer. Since the introduction of the NIL phenomenon in college football, we’ve had a lot of people ask if players would now be more likely to stay in school rather than enter the draft given the opportunity to get paid while playing in college, but this is the first instance of a player leaving because he wasn’t being paid. By leaving this week, Sluka saves his year of eligibility and likely will resurface somewhere else next year, but may ask for his money upfront! Stay tuned.

Actually, I'm totally sympathetic to the player, assuming he's telling the story correctly.
Are players not getting NIL promises down in writing? When you're talking serious money, these things need to be on paper.
Good for him for leaving them hanging, the same way they did to him.

[Moriarty]

More details

https://www.aol.com/sports/unlv-startin ... 33133.html

He says "They promised me 100k, then wanted to change it to 12k"
Them "We were discussing the possibility of 12k, but couldn't give him 100k, because you're not allowed to pay players"

um...ok

[Rusty Trombagent]

i love this shit. i live for it.

[thunderspirit]

Good for him.

[wab]

With the trajectory of NIL, you yave to wonder how long it will be before the NFL changes its rules on when a player can declare for the draft.

If these kids are getting paid already, I imagine the NFL would probably prefer to be the ones with the rights to them.

[UOK]

The NCAA did this to themselves. After years of exploitation and shady dealings that benefit only the upper crust of these schools, the players finally have agency, and acts like these are part of it.

Go get paid, young guns.

[Boris13c]

The NCAA did this to themselves. After years of exploitation and shady dealings that benefit only the upper crust of these schools, the players finally have agency, and acts like these are part of it.

Go get paid, young guns.

I'm with you

if the NCAA had acted in a manner their speechifying talks about, then there would have been a fair and equitable sharing long before now ... but power and avarice ruled their days for decades ... so whatever unsavory mess the NIL turns into is the NCAA's own fault and they deserve the pain that is going to come with it

[Otis Day]

I understand NIL. I think the college athletes were being ripped off by the system. Not profiting off of people using their NIL (video games, jerseys and such) was pretty low.

But at the same time, this is what has turned me off of major college sports. I don't really care to watch ND like I used to. I don't really care to watch the marquee matchups like this weeks Georgia v Alabama. NIL and the transfer portal has ruined it for me. Give me your Akron v Toledo and I am all over that. Give me some FCS as well.

I am happy for the kids who are making money off it, but I just can't watch much anymore.

[Boris13c]

I understand NIL. I think the college athletes were being ripped off by the system. Not profiting off of people using their NIL (video games, jerseys and such) was pretty low.

But at the same time, this is what has turned me off of major college sports. I don't really care to watch ND like I used to. I don't really care to watch the marquee matchups like this weeks Georgia v Alabama. NIL and the transfer portal has ruined it for me. Give me your Akron v Toledo and I am all over that. Give me some FCS as well.

I am happy for the kids who are making money off it, but I just can't watch much anymore.

what started turning me off about college ball, even prior to the NIL, was the idiotic moving of schools from conference to conference and losing a lot of regional rivalries ... the clincher was when Maryland moved to the Big 10, a conference that seemingly has a math issue in regards to what constitutes the number 10, and it only got worse with even further alleged "aligned teams" just seemingly randomly aligned without any seeming concern to locations

now with how the NIL is affecting things, I am even more turned off and more likely to tune out

[Otis Day]

@Boris13c , that came into play as well. I mean, USC and UCLA in the Big 10ish? WTF is that about? Just can't get into it anymore.

[Moriarty]

I'll just throw this in here, too.
Not about NIL, but it is about the 4 game limit, eligibility, and the Transfer Portal.

USC DT Alexander to sit out year … In something of a surprise move, Southern California DT Bear Alexander has announced that he intends to sit out the rest of the season to preserve a year of eligibility. The 6-3, 315-pound Alexander, who has exceptional quickness for somebody that size, came into the year projected as a potential second-day prospect, but hasn’t played much in the revamped Trojans’ defence. Alexander says he is staying at USC, but given that he hinted at transferring this spring, it is hard to see him not moving on eventually. Alexander was a 4-5 star recruit who signed originally at Georgia, but transferred to USC after one year with the Bulldogs and was named to several all-conference teams last year when hae had 47 total tackles including a couple of sacks.

I think this is going to become a much more common scenario.
Given that players have a very limited window to make their mark, they need to be on the field.
If they don't like how their playing time is going, with the Transfer penalty greatly reduced (just the rest of the current season, not the next one anymore), I can see lots of players with dreams of the next level going this route (bailing early in the season to preserve eligibility).

[Arkansasbear]

The NCAA did this to themselves. After years of exploitation and shady dealings that benefit only the upper crust of these schools, the players finally have agency, and acts like these are part of it.

Go get paid, young guns.

We went from one completely screwed up system to a system that is completely screwed up in different ways.

I still think that NIL is going to be the death of college football as we've know it.

[UOK]

The NCAA did this to themselves. After years of exploitation and shady dealings that benefit only the upper crust of these schools, the players finally have agency, and acts like these are part of it.

Go get paid, young guns.

We went from one completely screwed up system to a system that is completely screwed up in different ways.

I still think that NIL is going to be the death of college football as we've know it.

Well, really we went from no system and a giant pile of ignored scandals to a formal system that is dogshit because of the many thousands of people involved with trying to make the rules.

NIL won't be the death of anything, because the NCAA got itself into this mess and ultimately there is a reckoning coming that has been necessary for a long time, considering the scope of college football.

Ultimately college football needs to be granted some form of exception where they are a private entity and participating schools that are enrolled get a salary cap, revenue sharing, and players have contracts and a union. It's not for all sports programs, but maybe it could be handled with a relegation system, where the 2nd and 3rd tiers are far less restricted and place far more emphasis on the academics. Basically the better you are at football, the less the school aspect of it is even a consideration. The colleges essentially are fielding professional clubs for exceptional talent ages 18-24.

Edit: This is a very solid take

[Moriarty]

I think this is going to become a much more common scenario.
Given that players have a very limited window to make their mark, they need to be on the field.
If they don't like how their playing time is going, with the Transfer penalty greatly reduced (just the rest of the current season, not the next one anymore), I can see lots of players with dreams of the next level going this route (bailing early in the season to preserve eligibility).

another

Tide DT to sit rest of year, transfer … In what has become the latest trend impacting the rapidly changing college football landscape, Alabama junior DT Jeheim Oatis has announced he will not play any more this season and will ultimately transfer. The 6-5, 325-pound Oatis was once considered one of the top prospects at the position, but has seen his playing time decrease this fall. Because he has only played in four games, Oatis will not lose a year of eligibility and will have two years remaining. In fact, Oatis is just one of a half dozen or so players across the country who have chosen to sit out the rest of the year and then enter the transfer portal while they still have time before losing their year of eligibility, although none of the others are particularly prime pro prospects.

[Rusty Trombagent]

Alabama junior DT Jeheim Oatis

Thought for sure I saw that name on this list, but I'm mistaken:

[Moriarty]

You'd have thought we were done for this season, but here's another:

Star Cards’ WR Lacy to sit rest of year … Louisville WR Caullin Lacy, who had been considered to be a potential early round pick in 2025, has decided to sit out the rest of the year after playing in just four games this fall. Lacy emerged on the national scene last fall after he caught 91 passes for over 1,300 yards at South Alabama, but he broke a collarbone in a preseason scrimmage this fall and missed much of the early part of the campaign. By opting out now Lacy retains his final year of eligibility and can return to school next year either at Louisville or elsewhere.