Last month, former UNLV quarterback Matt Sluka shook up college sports by suddenly announcing that he would redshirt and enter the transfer portal, citing unmet promises regarding name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments for himself and his family.
Sluka and his representatives have acknowledged that any commitments of $100,000 in NIL compensation were made verbally. In response, UNLV coaches have denied making such promises.
This situation might have been avoided if Sluka had secured a written agreement.
Rachel Baker, the general manager of Duke men’s basketball, stated that written agreements are the only way she will handle NIL deals with athletes.
“In terms of how we’ve structured our relationship with our collective and how it engages with student-athletes, it’s our responsibility to protect them,”
Baker said during an NIL-focused panel at Advertising Week in New York. “Whether it’s misleading or not, agreements that favor donors but fail to protect a student-athlete’s experience at Duke reflect on us.”
When Duke coach Jon Scheyer hired Baker in 2022, she became one of the first general managers in college sports, and now many of her peers exist, some earning more than their coaching counterparts.
“When making promises to athletes and their families, the collective should reflect what you’re communicating to them on a daily basis. Based on the contract, that type of situation couldn’t occur at Duke,”
she explained regarding the Sluka case. “It’s crucial to remain athlete-friendly to avoid such issues.
While this may be seen as the dark side of the situation, it also holds coaches, administrators, and universities accountable for recruitment promises that they traditionally haven’t had to uphold.”
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