Schools May Pursue Nico Iamaleava if NIL Price Drops Below Original Tennessee Number

Stephen Douglas | Apr 15, 2025

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava may have cost himself a lot of money by entering the transfer portal. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Nico Iamaleava is a quarterback without a huddle, but he might be able to find a new home if he simply drops his asking price. The only problem is, that price may have to drop below what he was originally due to make in NIL money at Tennessee.

Iamaleava, who started 13 games for the College Football Playoff-going Tennessee Volunteers last season, decided to skip the school's spring practice and effectively hold out while trying to negotiate for more money just last week. Iamaleava was set to make somewhere around $2.2 million, but reportedly wanted closer to $4 million. When Tennessee didn't give him more, he entered the transfer portal hoping to get it elsewhere.

That has not happened. Some teams were rumored to be interested in Iamaleava, but nothing has happened and at least two schools—North Carolina and Tulane—are reportedly taking themselves out of the running.

At this point it's pretty clear he won't be getting more money somewhere, and it seems likely he'll actually have to take less than he was set to make at Tennessee.

The silver lining is that if his price does drop, some teams might be willing to re-enter the conversation. According to On3, multiple schools are waiting to see if his NIL ask drops back to the $1 million range, which would be less than half what he was set to make at Tennessee.

Wherever Iamaleava ends up, his story is starting to look like a lesson in leverage and a cautionary tale for any player who might be overestimating their own value.

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