This is being written not through an NFL media outlet but a college football one. The same league that clarifies this is not “pay-for-play” is the same league that allows it. The NIL era has taken complete form, but this is the next level. This is a move that will go down in history as the first of possibly more to come.
I had to take a few moments to process what I was seeing. The headline “Nico Iamaleava hitting the portal” was the first shock. Then came the reasoning. The absurd, disheartening, scary reasoning, which is so unbelievably greedy.
Nico Iamaleava was reported to be in "active negotiations" with Tennessee after trying to secure a reshaped NIL contract. Wait, hold up. Active negotiations? Yeah, you read that right. But that wasn’t all. Iamaleava remained at the center of all the drama as he proceeded to miss practice in an effort to “hold out” until he received a new NIL contract.
There’s a lot to process there. Firstly, let’s start with Nico Iamaleava’s NIL valuation. It was reported that Iamaleava received a blockbuster deal straight out of high school worth around $10 million. That check would give him roughly over $2.5 million per season to play at Tennessee. That deal made him the 12th highest paid athlete in all of college sports. However, Iamaleava wasn’t happy with that and seemed to have wanted even more.
After this holdout took place, reports about Iamaleava came flying out by the second. Most notably, it was ESPN’s Chris Low who reported Iamaleava was seeking an additional $4 million. By the time the standoff between Tennessee and Iamaleava had taken full effect, Iamaleava had already begun to fill out paperwork for the transfer portal. His representatives had contacted one school in particular, Oregon, although it seemed to appear that Oregon was not interested in the Tennessee “star.”
If you could call him that. Iamaleava is the epitome of everything that is wrong with college sports. The lack of loyalty and true thought of development has been overcome by an ambition to receive more money. Frankly, Tennessee made the right decision to let Iamaleava walk. I am not under the impression that Iamaleava is even worth the amount of money he is receiving right now.
I could say for certain that even if Tennessee decided to pay Nico that money, there would be a whole bunch of crossfire in that locker room. Josh Heupel has already made known his thoughts about this, stating that “No one is bigger than the program.” I will say so. The harsh truth that Nico has to hear is that he is in no position to even request a new contract.
We are talking about a sophomore quarterback who hasn’t proven anything. Iamaleava finished his first season in Tennessee with 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions while getting crushed 42-17 against Ohio State in the first round of the CFB Playoff. Those stats were good for 57th in the nation. That is right; Iamaleava finished as the 57th best passer in the country.
You would think, maybe we are talking about a Heisman Finalist or National Champion, or at the very least someone who has actually proven something. Nope. We are talking about someone who is arguably slightly above average.
This is a brutal backstabbing and a very cold case of pride that we are witnessing firsthand. Not to mention, Tennessee has had Iamaleava’s back from the beginning. It’s a program that went through recruiting violations just to land him, a program that promised him a starting spot and delivered, and a program that paid him more than enough money to start. Regardless of everything, the man just wanted more. From what I’ve seen, the grass is not always greener. This is a game that pays no respect to you as a player and what you want. Nico is testing profound waters with this move.
The bigger picture of this whole mess is even worse, as college football will just continue to face the wrath of unworthy and greedy players. I mentioned the NFL. This kind of stuff happens every other day in the NFL, but we are talking about college. The fact of the matter is that we are now at a point where players can hold out of practice with no repercussions. This is a horrifying thing and one that not many programs will want to deal with.
Of course, from a Tennessee football perspective, this certainly hurts the Vols. While Iamaleava wasn’t a top-tier quarterback, he still led the Vols to crucial victories last season, like the ones against Florida and Alabama. In the short term, this really sets Tennessee back. It comes at possibly the worst time, as Tennessee will have to abruptly pivot and find a new quarterback. However, I believe that Tennessee made the right decision as this sets a precedent around the league that this sort of behavior should not be tolerated at power 4 schools.
The unfortunate part of this is that another school will end up paying him that money. Some teams are desperate enough for a quarterback, and because of this, Iamaleava will get what he wants.
On a final thought, I think everyone from Nico Iamaleava’s camp—from his dad to representatives to his agent—handled this terribly. Nico is too young for all of this. He doesn’t deserve the backlash that may come with this decision. I’m not one to root against a kid like Iamaleava, but in the end, this is college football. We want to preserve the game we love. When you tie money into everything, so much becomes destroyed. For the first time, we are now seeing that with players who feel they are worth more than their already ridiculous paychecks.
All in all, it’s just a shame that we’ve gotten to this point. It’s just ridiculous.