UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka has decided to sit out the rest of his undefeated team’s season over a $100,000 NIL payment that was promised but never paid after he agreed to transfer to the Rebels last winter, Sluka’s agent told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Sluka’s announcement late Tuesday sent shockwaves throughout major college football, where the old rules of amateurism have fallen but schools and the NCAA are still grappling with how to regulate the way players can be compensated for use of their name, image or likeness.

Sluka’s agent, Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports, said Sluka was promised $100,000 by a UNLV assistant coach who recruited the quarterback last winter when he agreed to transfer from Holy Cross to the Rebels in January.

Equity Sports represents numerous NFL and college players, including Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes. Sluka’s father, Bob Sluka, told AP via text message that his son signed with Equity Sports when Matthew Sluka declared he intended to switch schools and entered the NCAA transfer portal in December.

Cromartie said that because Sluka was still completing his degree at Holy Cross, he could not sign a NIL contract, typically done with booster-backed third parties called collectives that serve a school’s athletes – until after he enrolled at UNLV later in the year.

Sluka did not join the team until preseason practice in August. No written contract was ever put in place, Cromartie said.

“In July, there was no NIL payments. There was no $100,000, I guess you could say zero dollars. He was given a $3,000 relocation fee and that was it,” said Cromartie, who declined to identify the assistant coach and said UNLV Coach Barry Odom was not involved in the initial discussions.

Cromartie said after several weeks went by he reached out to first representatives of UNLV’s collective and then Odom to discuss ways to pay Sluka the $100,000 he said the player was promised.

Cromartie said he suggested payments of $10,000 a month over the next five months and even $5,000 per month and was declined. Cromartie said Sluka was offered $3,000 per month by Odom.

“At that point I think Matt felt lied to. At that point he just wanted to stand up for himself,” Cromartie said.

UNLV issued a statement accusing Sluka’s representative of making “financial demands upon the university and its NIL collective in order to continue playing.”

“UNLV athletics interpreted these demands as a violation of the NCAA pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law,” the school 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 is scheduled to host Fresno State (3-1) in a big Mountain West game on Saturday, with both schools hoping a strong season could put them in consideration for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. The Rebels have already beaten two power conference schools.

NCAA redshirt rules allow players to retain a year of eligibility if they play four or fewer games in a season. Sluka, who played four seasons (2020-23) at Holy Cross, still has one more year of eligibility that he could use at another school next season. NCAA rules do not allow players to play for two schools within the same season.

Sluka did not detail the reasons behind his decision, but college athletes are now routinely being paid hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars by companies or booster-funded collectives.

“I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled,” Sluka posted on X. “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 NCAA lifted its ban on athletes being compensated for things like endorsement and sponsorship deals in 2021, but put in place few detailed rules to regulate how athletes are paid beyond saying the compensation cannot come directly from the school.

A patchwork of state laws have created different standards around the country, and college sports leaders, including NCAA President Charlie Baker, have been lobbying Congress for a federal law to help get a handle of an unruly system that lacks transparency.

Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada, who committed to play for Florida out of high school, is suing Gators Coach Billy Napier and one of the school’s top boosters after a $14 million NIL deal fell through. Rashad never played for Florida. He was released from his scholarship agreement in 2023, transferred to Arizona State where he played last year and then transferred to Georgia this offseason.

“They’re going to have to figure out a system, just like anything else – make sure contracts are signed, or the language is done the right way,” Mahomes, who has become involved in the NIL collective at Texas Tech, his alma mater, said Wednesday when asked about Sluka’s situation.

UNLV went 9-5 last season and played for the Mountain West conference championship, but the quarterback who led that team to the program’s best season in nearly 40 years, Jayden Maiava, transferred to Southern California of the Big Ten.

Sluka was one of the top quarterbacks playing in Division I’s second tier, known as the Football Championship Subdivision. Holy Cross reached the FCS playoffs in 2021 and ’22 with Sluka as the starter.

“At the end of the day, $100,000 for a quarterback that’s in a Top 25 program is actually probably on the lower tier,” Cromartie said. “The fact that he hasn’t gotten that or anything in between just speaks to the point he’s getting done unjustly and unfairly.”