This past week, University of Nevada star quarterback Mathew Sluka announced that he would be leaving the team after their first 3 games due to a new NIL opportunity that presented itself. This decision sent ripples through the college football community and raised national concerns regarding the issues surrounding how NIL may disrupt the sport as a whole. As NIL deals become more common and more insane in Division 1 football, there has to be better legislation guiding these agreements between players and institutions, college football is changing fast, and it could be in real danger.
NIL concerns college athletes making money through social media and other personal images. The idea of NIL became legal across the NCAA in 2021 when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the NCAA’s fight against its antitrust lawsuit. Since then, there has been a frenzy throughout college sports, with the NCAA working to draft NIL guidance and structure. At the same time, college athletes and institutions are cashing in on all the NIL deals being thrown at them.
NCAA athletes playing for free has always been a staple of the sport and a feature of the product. Many fans loved the fact that college sports used to be all about pride, their love for the game, and the honor of the college they represent. College football is in some ways like a religion in some parts of the United States, and the diehard fans who pledge wavering support to their team are brought together as they get a sense that the players on the field might just be doing it for them. However, this is no longer the case. Sure, school pride does still exist in college athletics, but it is far from the primary source of motivation.
According to Sulka’s agent and ESPN, Sulka was promised $100,000 in a verbal conversation and agreement that motivated his decision to leave Holy Cross to attend UNLV last winter. After the team started 3-0 with Sulka under center, the quarterback decided to utilize the rest of his eligibility next season, with a new team. Sluka’s situation stirred up intense emotions for both sides of the debate. Some flamed Sulka for his actions, and some condemned him for abandoning his teammates and coaches. Sulka’s case is just the beginning of troubling and complicated NIL disputes in college football.
The big NIL deals have many of the same characteristics as deals in professional sports, just without the guarantees. If the NCAA cannot find a way to clean things up, college football will soon become unrecognizable to those who used to worship and love the game.
