Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement on social media imploring Congress “to create national NIL guidelines that will protect student-athletes from exploitation.”
The entire remarks can be found below.
“We continue to see evidence of dysfunction in today’s NIL environment, including examples of promises made but not kept to student-athletes…Just as anyone that owns stock or buys a house is afforded basic consumer protections, it’s clear that student-athletes entering NIL contracts should be too. That’s exactly why we provide student-athletes with a template contract and recommended, fair terms through our new NIL Assist platform.
“While we’d love to see these resources used to protect student-athletes in every NIL deal, it’s not something the NCAA has the authority to mandate. In the meantime, we’re continuing to advocate for Congress to create national NIL guidelines that will protect student-athletes from exploitation, including the use of standard contracts.”
Baker’s statement came days after former UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka left the program after his NIL agent, Marcus Cromartie, claimed that an assistant coach promised him $100,000 for committing there after graduating from Holy Cross last spring. Pete Thamel of ESPN provided the details.
“Once Sluka enrolled there, there was no effort by the UNLV’s collective to formalize a contract at that amount. Months after Sluka enrolled and Cormartie made multiple efforts with the staff and school to address the issue.
“He said the school and collective came back with a contract of $3,000 per month for the next four months. That’s $88,000 less than what Cromartie said UNLV verbally promised up front.
“The only money Sluka has received from UNLV, per Cromartie, is a $3,000 re-location stipend for his move. Cromartie said there was never an ask for more money after UNLV’s hot start, only the initial amount he was promised up front.”
Blueprint Sports, the operator of UNLV’s NIL collective, fired back, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger
Rob Sine, CEO of Blueprint Sports, which operates UNLV’s collective, tells @YahooSports that the collective never agreed to a $100,000 deal with QB Matthew Sluka.
It made a payment of $3,000 to Sluka & were discussing a monthly payment of $3,000 before QB’s decision this week.
Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger
However, Sine said Cromartie is not a registered agent in the state of Nevada. Because of this, he advised Cromartie/Sluka to discuss the situation directly with the coaching staff until Cromartie registers in the state.
Sine says he has email exchanges with Cromartie.
Baker has previously implored Congress to take action. In February, Baker was trying to plead his case for “granting the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption that would allow it to make rules safeguarding college sports without the constant threat of litigation,” per Ben Nuckols of the Associated Press.
“You’re talking about 95 percent of colleges that probably spend somewhere between … $40 million and $5 million on college sports, and they lose money,” Baker said. “They don’t have TV contracts and nobody can look at their income statements or balance sheets and conclude there would be a way for them to make money.”
Baker also went to Capitol Hill last October and had this message, per Daniel Libit of Sportico.
“In a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Baker hailed the association’s recent proposed changes in addressing athlete welfare, while warning Congress that without granting it an antitrust exemption—or, as he euphemized it, ‘limited liability protection’—the mounting legal threats to college sports governance have pushed the enterprise to the brink of relevance.”
Ultimately, the Sluka-UNLV issue calls to a massive problem in college sports, one that needs to be addressed and rectified immediately. Baker is clearly trying to alleviate the problem through Congressional help, but something needs to be done, because incidents like the one involving Sluka are a huge black eye to college football.
