Tennessee Football Moves On From Star Quarterback After NIL Dispute

The Tennessee Volunteers made an unprecedented push back against NIL.

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) throws during the second half of the College Football Playoff first round game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Dec. 22, 2024. Ohio State won 42-17. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers made a shocking decision in the face of an NIL dispute with their star quarterback.

After reports last week emerged of Tennessee star quarterback Nico Iamaleava wanting a substantial NIL increase from the program after an up and down first season as a starter, things reached a fever pitch by Friday when it was revealed that the signal caller had skipped practice and meetings that day as a result of the dispute.

On Saturday morning, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that the Volunteers have decided to move on entirely from Iamaleava, and head coach Josh Heupel broke the news to the team at a meeting.

Whether or not Iamaleava actually was going to enter the portal if his already lucrative deal was not increased may never be known, though now it seems he does not have much of a choice.

The spring portal window opens next week on April 16 and Iamaleava likely will become the most sought after player available.

Iamaleava is hardly the first example of a player coming to a program and demanding more money -- situations which have resulted in a wide range of endings and frequently ended in the portal anyway -- though this is the first time a high-profile player has done an NFL style "hold out" where they skipped practice to try and force their team's hand.

He also had one of the most notable recruitments of the entire NIL era as the No. 2 overall prospect in the country behind Arch Manning, who committed to the Texas Longhorns.

Iamaleava got what was reported at the time to be a deal worth over $8 million to commit to Tennessee. He was slated to make roughly $2.5 million this season alone. However, he reportedly wanted an increase to $4 million or more.

In his first year as a starter, Iamaleava was not horrible by any means, but while he showed flashes, he certainly had not yet proven his worth on the original massive deal.

Throwing for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions with another 314 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, the Volunteers relied largely on what was an elite defense to carry them into the College Football Playoff.

Things ended quickly there with a blowout loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes in which Iamaleava completed just 14 of his 31 passing attempts for 104 yards and was sacked four times.

In terms of the upcoming season, Tennessee could go back into the portal themselves, though they also have redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre on the roster, both of whom were high-profile recruits themselves.

Iamaleava will likely land somewhere another chance to start as the portal world now has its eyes squarely on the former elite prospect.

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