The situation between the Tennessee Volunteers football team and quarterback Nico Iamaleava went from weird to bad to nonexistent in a hurry.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Saturday that the school is moving on from its starting quarterback following his decision not to attend practice on Friday amid NIL contract discussions..
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel reportedly informed the rest of the team on Saturday morning before their spring game.
Sources told Thamel that Iamaleava’s missing practice on Friday was the tipping point for the decision. That came after Iamaleava’s father called out on3’s Pete Nakos, who reported that the star quarterback and Tennessee were in “active contract negotiations.” Nakos’s reporting turned out to be very accurate.
ESPN’s Chris Low reported that Iamaleava told offensive coordinator Joey Halzle late Friday night he planned to enter the transfer portal next week.
Low also reported earlier in the week that Iamaleava wanted his NIL compensation to rise to $4 million. He had been making $2.4 million on a contract reportedly for $8 million when he signed it. However, because he started receiving payments while in high school, the contract’s total worth would have been closer to $10 million, per ESPN.
The news sent shockwaves through the college football and sports media world Saturday morning. Many people took aim at Iamaleava for his perceived selfishness and greed. Others saw it as a business decision that gives the quarterback a chance to determine his market value in this new NIL landscape.
Expect the conversation around this situation to continue well into next week.