UNLV QB Matthew Sluka says he won’t play again this season.

Sluka said in a social media post that he will not play the rest of the season due to unfulfilled promises apparently made to him. Sluka was the Rebels’ starting quarterback for the first three games of the season, and UNLV started the season 3-0 with wins over Houston and Kansas.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, who spoke with Sluka’s agent Marcus Cromartie of Equity Sports, a UNLV assistant coach promised Sluka at least $100,000 to transfer there. Cromartie told Thamel that none of that was paid. Crucially, the agreement was verbal in nature. NBC Sports’ Nichole Auerbach confirmed that nothing was put in writing. After Sluka enrolled, UNLV made no effort to formalize the deal and ultimately offered him a contract that was significantly less than what he was promised.

Sluka is the first and most famous player to quit playing midseason because of NIL commitments. Current Georgia QB Jaden Rashada landed at Arizona State for his freshman season after a NIL contract with Florida fell through. However, that drama occurred before Rashada had a chance to take the field for the Gators.

Sluka’s agent told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger that the door is not completely closed for him to return to the team, but he put the blame squarely on UNLV.

The UNLV collective issued a statement to Dellenger on Wednesday afternoon.

Sluka took over as UNLV’s starting quarterback as the Rebels were looking for a replacement for last year’s starting quarterback Jayden Maiava. Maiava developed into the team’s starter as a freshman and threw for over 3,000 yards as UNLV made its first bowl appearance since 2013.

However, at the end of the season, he entered the transfer portal and briefly stayed at Georgia. After withdrawing his commitment from the Bulldogs, Maiava landed at USC and is now the No. 2 QB behind Miller Moss.

Sluka is a fifth-year senior who spent the first four seasons of his career at Holy Cross. In 2023, he completed 122 of 197 passes for 1,723 yards and 20 TDs with just five interceptions. Players can appear in up to four games and still take a redshirt season, allowing Sluka to play a sixth season of college football in 2025 as long as he doesn’t appear in two more games that season.

With Sluka unavailable, UNLV’s top two quarterbacks are Cameron Friel and Hajj-Malik Williams. Friel has thrown one pass this season and both played in the team’s win over Utah Tech.