© Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is in the transfer portal. The passer’s dramatic exit has from Knoxville has taken the college football world by storm.
Iamaleava, under the direction of his father, attempted to hold the Vols hostage with NIL demands. Rather than negotiate, the program let their 5-star talent walk.
The saga started last week when whispers of a holdout surfaced. Iamaleava’s camp was reportedly unhappy with his $2M+ salary after seeing others on the market land more lucrative payouts.
Carson Beck of UGA signed with Miami at a $4 million clip. Tulane’s Darian Mensah saw a similar price tag upon transferring to Duke. Iamaleava believed he could get the same.
He demanded a contract renegotiation, which went public after an anonymous source leaked the intel (Dan Lanning still hasn’t denied involvement). Nico Iamaleava’s father initially denied the rumors, which later turned out to be true.
The quarterback then no-showed for spring practice. He did not participate in the team’s spring game. Instead, he filled out his transfer paperwork.
Iamaleava reportedly asked for $4 million a year. Tennessee refused. The passer’s representation (we use that term loosely) believed it could get its asking price on the open market. That doesn’t seem to be the case!
Nico Iamaleava’s market value has gone down.
Numerous coaches have already come out to deny interest in the passer. Miami’s Mario Cristobal and Florida’s Billy Napier both blasted Iamaleava for his antics. Deion Sanders quieted rumors of his supposed dealings with the quarterback. Bill Belichick is looking at the discount brand equivalent in his next target.
Nobody wants Nico Iamaleava. At least not yet.
Pete Nakos of On3 Sports has been following the drama throughout the weekend. He recently dropped an update on schools’ interest in signal caller.
Iamaleava’s reps wanted to see his deal upped to the $4 million range… On3 previously reported that Iamaleava’s current deal at Tennessee is somewhere between $2.2 and $2.5 million. If Iamaleava does not secure a deal in the $3 to $4 million range and is open to a deal closer to $1 million, multiple schools are expected to show interest.
-Pete Nakos
“Multiple programs are ready to become contenders if he is open to a deal closer to $1 million,” Nakos wrote. That would be about 50% of what he would’ve made with Tennessee.
The news directly contradicts what Nico Iamaleava’s father recently suggested in an online conversation with a college football social media outlet. The quarterback’s dad said they’ve seen multiple offers of more than $4 million from unnamed schools. He insists that there’s a bidding war set to take place.
Nakos’ update would imply that those claims are untrue. His pool is shrinking, as is his potential payday. Tulane, a program long tied to the passer, reportedly pulled out of the race as this article was being written.
UCLA is the school most consistently linked to Iamaleava, who hails from Long Beach, California. Not many others remain – at least those with a checkbook large enough to meet his dad’s $4 million demands.
Nico Iamaleava’s opportunities of landing a portal pay raise appear to be dwindling. His hostage situation has become bad business. There seems a legitimate chance the 5-star prospect will take a significant salary cut with his next school.