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The Tennessee Volunteers made the shocking decision to part ways with quarterback Nico Iamaleava on Saturday after the redshirt sophomore no-showed practice the day prior in hopes of negotiating a better NIL contract. Now it turns out that it wasn’t the first time that Iamaleava did so. Josh Pate of CBS Sports revealed that Iamaleava threatened to leave the Vols prior to their College Football Playoff game against Ohio State if he did not receive a pay raise.
“…This past December, cats like Nico Iamaleava almost held out of a playoff games because they were trying to renegotiate contracts in the middle of a playoff run,” Pate said. “He wasn’t the only one.”
NICO WANTED TO OPT OUT DURING OUR PLAYOFF GAME? (It was his dad) Good riddance way to ruin your sons career @Nic_Iamaleava pic.twitter.com/ezafIRa0KO
— The Average Vols Fan (@BasedVols) April 14, 2025
Nico Iamaleava’s Transfer Market Isn’t As Rich As Some Expected It To Be
Ultimately, cooler heads appear to have prevailed and Iamaleava did play in the game. But he struggled throughout against the Buckeyes, completing just 14-of-31 passes for 104 yards in a 42-17 loss to the eventual national champions.
While Iamaleava may well find the NIL contract he’s looking for with a different team, it doesn’t seem as if his options are plentiful. John Brice of Football Scoop reports that neither USC nor Notre Dame have shown interest in the transfer quarterback. Meanwhile, NIL rich Texas Tech is also reportedly uninterested in Iamaleava and plans to stick with starter Behren Morton.
Ultimately, somebody is going to bring in Iamaleava. He’s a former five-star quarterback with College Football Playoff experience and a live arm. But once again it appears that he’s overplayed his hand, and it may come around to burn him in the end.
Meanwhile, the Vols and head coach Josh Heupel sound happy to move forward with freshmen Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre and see who comes out on top.