Tennessee’s Iamaleava Situation Provides Another Wrinkle to NIL-era

In 2022, Nico Iamaleava signed a first-of-its-kind, multi-year NIL deal which promised him $8 million for the expected time he would be the quarterback at the University of Tennessee.[i] In 2024, Tennessee’s Attorney General sued the NCAA over the contract, leading to an injunction and a settlement that allowed NIL collectives to negotiate NIL deals before a player signed with a school.[ii] Later that same year, Iamaleava led the Volunteers to a 10-3 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff.[iii]

Now, that revolution is over. Last week, the University announced that it would not be bringing back Iamaleava, forcing the quarterback into the spring transfer portal.[iv] The cause? Attempts by Iamaleava and his representation, including his father and an attorney who both are not licensed agents, staging a holdout trying to get more NIL money.[v]

It was a shocking sequence of events, as the third-year quarterback took part in the entire spring ball program, including the final practice on the Thursday before the Volunteers’ Spring Game.[vi] Then, Iamaleava was unreachable on Friday as reports of the contract negotiations began to leak, despite Iamaleava’s father taking to X/Twitter to deny these claims.[vii] Following the Spring Game on Saturday, with Iamaleava still unreachable, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel made the decision that they would be moving on from the quarterback, turning to either Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre instead.[viii]

While there are many lessons that could be learned from a situation like this, one of the main lessons that is clear according to many is that the power in the NIL war could be swinging back to the schools. Volunteer fans were quick to praise Heupel as he came off the bus in the leadup to the Spring Game, giving him a massive cheer.[ix] “I’m proud of the stand we took as a university,” former Tennessee coach and current athletic director Phillip Fulmer stated, another quote that is sure to push fan support more towards the school, not the player.[x]

This lesson appears to come down to one thing, leverage. There are very few players in college football that could effectively carry out the holdout that Iamaleava and his representation attempted. Arch Manning, now the only top eight quarterback from the 2023 recruiting class not to transfer, has the name recognition and potential that could potentially lead to an effective holdout.[xi] The same could be said for Ohio State’s young receiver Jeremiah Smith, or Florida’s quarterback DJ Lagway.[xii] Iamaleava’s production (2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns), along with a lack of success in the College Football Playoffs (first round loss to Ohio State), was enough to convince Heupel and UT to not shell out the $4 million per year the quarterback was asking for.[xiii] “No one is bigger than the Power T…including me,” according to Heupel. [xiv]

While his time at Tennessee is over, Iamaleava’s future remains uncertain. Reports indicated that UCLA remained interested in the quarterback, but nothing was official after Tulane and North Carolina dropped out, with the expected NIL to be far below the $4 million asking price.[xv] Iamaleava also took to social media earlier this week to dispel rumors that he intentionally threw Tennessee’s College Football Playoff game against Ohio State due to his unhappiness over his NIL compensation.[xvi] No matter what way you spin it, the situation between Nico Iamaleava and the University of Tennessee spells a cautionary tale and another wrinkle into the ever-changing landscape that is college football. Please look out for a future post after the spring transfer window closes on April 25 discussing the aftermath further.

[i] https://frontofficesports.com/nico-iamaleava-tennessee-nil-transfer-portal/

[ii] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6274763/2025/04/12/tennessee-nico-iamaleava-transfer-portal-nil-contract/

[iii] https://www.on3.com/college/tennessee-volunteers/news/nico-iamaleava-former-5-star-qb-plans-enter-ncaa-transfer-portal/

[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6280955/2025/04/15/nico-iamaleava-tennessee-holdout-nil-until-saturday/

[v] https://frontofficesports.com/nico-iamaleava-tennessee-nil-transfer-portal/

[vi] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6275827/2025/04/14/tennessee-football-nico-iamaleava-holdout-transfer/

[vii] https://tennessee.rivals.com/news/nico-iamaleava-s-dad-denies-reports-of-negotiations-for-tennessee-qb

[viii] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6275827/2025/04/14/tennessee-football-nico-iamaleava-holdout-transfer/

[ix] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6274763/2025/04/12/tennessee-nico-iamaleava-transfer-portal-nil-contract/

[x] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6275827/2025/04/14/tennessee-football-nico-iamaleava-holdout-transfer/

[xi] Id.

[xii] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6274763/2025/04/12/tennessee-nico-iamaleava-transfer-portal-nil-contract/