Tennessee’s QB breakup embodies new NIL issues in college athletics

• Former Tennessee star quarterback Nico Iamaleava wanted more money. However, the University of Tennessee decided not to renegotiate his NIL deal.
• Iamaleava entered his name into the transfer portal and head coach Josh Heupel says the Volunteers are “moving on without him.”
• The dispute signals a new chapter in the “pay for play” NCAA landscape.

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Former University of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava wanted to renegotiate his deal, specifically the terms of his Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) agreement. Now, in a first-of-its-kind college football “holdout,” Iamaleava decided not to show up for the end of the team’s spring practices Friday, April 11.

How did the situation come about, and how was it resolved?

Iamaleava then entered his name into the transfer portal, capping a very public breakup over his NIL compensation. Reports say the rising sophomore was looking for more than the four-year, $8 million deal he signed while still in high school. Tennessee, it appears, stood firmly against that request.

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“We’re moving forward as a program without him,” head coach Josh Heupel said Saturday, April 12. “I said it to the guys today –– there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T. That includes me. They hear me say that a lot in that team room.”

The Iamaleava situation epitomizes the current state of college football, which is marching towards a “pay-for-play” professional sport. As a freshman, he led the Vols to the college football playoffs last season. Iamaleave also threw for 2,600 yards, 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Reports say he wants to double his payment to $4 million per year.

Why can’t schools just pay his price?

Schools around the country, however, are preparing for a world where they will have a salary cap on the amount they can pay players. The House vs. NCAA anti-trust settlement, which is expected to be approved in the next couple of weeks, will allow each school to spend $22.5 million on all of their sports rosters combined. While outside collectives will still be able to add to those payments, giving one player nearly one-fifth of that $22.5 million was a red line for the Vols.

“This program is ready to go win next fall,” Heupel said. “As a program, since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QBs –– done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some have been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.”

Why are these moves unusual in April?

April is also a tough time for schools to spend money on a new player, even a star quarterback, as most NIL deals are already done. But Iamaleava is counting on a quarterback-needy school to pay close to his annual $4 million price tag.

Schools like UCLA—Iamaleava is from Southern California—or North Carolina, Maryland or Oklahoma State could be in the market.

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One place we know he won’t land is at another SEC school. The conference bylaws say no player can move to another conference team in the spring window.

Wherever Iamaleava winds up, this battle between student-employee and school-employer is just getting started.