On Friday, the spring transfer portal closed for college football athletes, ending one of the most consequential periods of the NIL-era in college sports. Chief among the most recent transfers was the monthlong saga involving brothers Nico and Madden Iamaleava. The quarterbacks both left SEC schools (Tennessee and Arkansas), ending up at UCLA, but how they ended up there has led to renewed questions about the fast-changing world of college athletics.[i]
As discussed in my most recent post, one of the main questions is how much this situation has given power back to the NCAA and to the individual schools.[ii] There are very few players in college sports, let alone college football, that have the ability to carry out the holdout that Nico attempted. Tennessee’s ability to not give in to the demands of a higher revenue payout to Nico has clearly swung the leverage back to the schools, stunting the ability of other athletes to hold out for more money after enrolling at their school.[iii]
A similar question is how much longer the unlimited transferring can continue as a viable option for schools, collectives, and the NCAA. After Madden Iamaleava announced he was entering the transfer portal, the Arkansas collective Arkansas Edge began the process of enforcing a “buyout” clause for several Arkansas athletes who entered the transfer portal.[iv] A demand letter was sent, seeking to recover $200,000 back from the younger Iamaleava, who never even played a down for the Razorbacks.[v] The issue that some point to is that the contracts that the collective is attempting recover from have the buyouts framed as “penalties”, which are less legally enforceable than if they were called “damages.”[vi] While the collectives attempt to get their money back, how willing they would be to continue doling out large sums of money, just to be left holding the bag when players leave less than a year later? This could lead to major changes in the unlimited movement that is currently allowed.
Proper representation of these athletes remains another common issue.. Nico is represented by his father, Nic, and a California-based coach Cordell Landers, and at least one lawyer, none of whom are certified agents.[vii] This lack of proper representation led to a miscalculation on the value of Nico to Tennessee and a confusing process where Iamaleava participated in the entirety of spring practices, telling coaches he was not transferring, only to hold out at the last minute.[viii] The lack of leverage and mixed messaging that Iamaleava’s camp sent Tennessee made it a relatively quick and easy decision for Coach Josh Heupel to announce that Nico would not be returning to Knoxville.[ix] It also led to a deal at UCLA that was reportedly far below the $4 million yearly asking price that was being asked from Tennessee.[x]
To say that college sports remain in a state of flux is an understatement. Even situations that seemed wrapped up like the House settlement, are now on the cusp of coming undone, leaving more questions than answers.[xi] As the Iamaleavas’ situation also shows, even if things do get figured out, there are many more uncertainties that remain in the era of college athlete compensation.
[i] https://www.on3.com/college/arkansas-razorbacks/news/arkansas-demanding-money-from-madden-iamaleava-others-through-nil-buyout/
[ii] https://ublawsportsforum.com/2025/04/19/tennessees-iamaleava-situation-provides-another-wrinkle-to-nil-era/
[iii] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6274763/2025/04/12/tennessee-nico-iamaleava-transfer-portal-nil-contract/
[iv] https://frontofficesports.com/will-arkansas-spur-an-nil-buyout-crackdown/
[v] https://www.on3.com/college/arkansas-razorbacks/news/arkansas-demanding-money-from-madden-iamaleava-others-through-nil-buyout/
[vi] https://frontofficesports.com/will-arkansas-spur-an-nil-buyout-crackdown/
[vii] https://frontofficesports.com/nico-iamaleava-tennessee-nil-transfer-portal/
[viii] Id.
[ix] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6275827/2025/04/14/tennessee-football-nico-iamaleava-holdout-transfer/
[x] https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/college-football/change-chaos-college-sports-nil-contract-holdout-rcna201787
[xi] https://frontofficesports.com/what-it-will-take-to-save-landmark-house-ncaa-settlement/
Image Credit: Steve Roberts/Imagn Images
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