Joey Aguilar will not be the starting quarterback at UCLA during the 2025 college football season. He is going to enter the transfer portal after the arrival of Nico Iamaleava, which raises questions about his NIL payments from the school at which he spent less than four months.
Unfortunately, most contracts are not made public so we do not know the exact financial details involved with this unique saga out in Westwood.
Aguilar, a former unranked high school recruit, began his college football career with two years on the JUCO level at Diablo Valley College. The California-native later transferred to Appalachian State as a junior and took over as the starter in Week 1. His first season with the Mountaineers was a great success.
Not only did App State win nine games in 2023, Aguilar threw for more than 3,700 yards and 33 touchdowns on a 63.7% completion clip with 10 interceptions. 2024 was not quite as strong, with 14 picks, but he still completed more than 55% of his passes for 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns.
I would gladly take a year of Joey Aguilar in Josh Heupel’s system pic.twitter.com/L44FJ0Ns7T
— Dylan Holt (@DylanHolt_) April 16, 2025
Joey Aguilar entered the transfer portal at the end of last season and ultimately transferred to UCLA. The Bruins paid him no less than $1,000,000 in NIL money for just one year as the starting quarterback. He went through the entire spring practice period under the assumption that he would be QB1. The staff was thrilled with what they saw from their new signal-caller. Everything was going according to plan.
And then Tennessee told Nico Iamaleava to kick rocks, which caused a ripple effect when he ultimately committed to UCLA.
Aguilar met with the staff on Monday about his future with the program. They must’ve told him that he would either need to compete with Iamaleava for the starting job or that he would serve as the backup.
Either way, Joey Aguilar did not like what he heard. He will hop back in the transfer portal in search of a new home for this upcoming season. The Bruins effectively squeezed him out.
Business is business. UCLA did what it had to do. Aguilar is on the wrong end of the move.
However, depending on his contract, the former Mountaineers and Bruins quarterback might leave Los Angeles with a seven-figure payment for less than six months of work. UCLA signed him to a $1 million+ deal as the starting quarterback. UCLA broke the deal with the acquisition of Iamaleava.
Does the university still have to pay him the full amount? How much did he get paid before he left? We may never know the answers to these questions. NIL agreements rarely go public so it is a mystery.
Regardless of what he is or is not owed, Joey Aguilar is back on the market. Tennessee, Iamaleava’s former school, supposedly has some interest. Tulane would like to add another quarterback. There will be a number of other suitors who jump into the mix.
Even though his brief time back home in the Golden State did not go according to plan, it could prove to be worth the hassle. He might be able to double dip on NIL deals in 2025— one at UCLA, one at TBD!