There’s no player who better represents the influx of name, image and likeness cash into college athletics than Nico Iamaleava.
He’s the reported $8 million recruit. A five-star QB from California who relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee so he could take advantage of what was — at the time — a historic NIL deal for a high school junior. Tennessee quite literally went to court for him when the state’s attorney general sued the NCAA over rules enforcement as it investigated what it believed to be a pay-for-play bargain between the Vols and Iamaleava. The courts granted Tennessee an injunction, essentially breaking the backbone of the NCAA’s enforcement model.
So, it’s appropriate (ironic?) that his Tennessee career came to an end because of an alleged NIL dispute.
For the first time in history, at least in such outwardly damming fashion, a major program called its starting QB’s transfer bluff.
The junior-to-be, fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance, had been asking for more money since the season ended, sources told CBS Sports. When his camp approached Tennessee officials again this spring asking for a raise, Tennessee pushed back. When those negotiations broke out in the media, Iamaleava never came out and made a public display of loyalty, which frustrated many in the program, according to multiple sources.
When Iamaleava took things further and skipped Friday’s practice ahead of Saturday’s spring game — a move his camp told CBS Sports was to mentally reset after his name trended on social media for 24 hours — it seemed to push Tennessee over the edge.
Tennessee wouldn’t — no it couldn’t — budge.
Instead, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and Iamaleava opted to part ways in a historic moment for the sport. Schools…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/tennessee-moving-on-from-nico-iamaleava-strikes-a-blow-against-never-ending-nil-negotiations/
Author : Chris Hummer
Publish date : 2025-04-12 16:12:00
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