More like Nico I-am-a-leave-a Tennessee.
In the current NIL era, this was bound to happen eventually. Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel and starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava have set another precedent as the redshirt freshman is set to enter the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.
Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision. pic.twitter.com/BsdhJMDXiz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2025
This news comes hours before Tennessee's spring game, as the Volunteers will now be in search of a new starting quarterback for the 2025 season.
In his first season as Tennessee's starting quarterback, Iamaleava completed 213-of-334 passes (63.8%) for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions while helping lead the Vols to a spot in the inaugural 12-team CFP.
While holdouts only used to happen in the NFL, with players demanding a new contract, Iamaleava did the same thing in Knoxville on Thursday, as On3's Pete Nakos reported that Iamaleava and the Volunteers were in active contract negotiations and the quarterback skipped Friday's practice amid the rumors that he wanted more money.
NEW: Tennessee & Nico Iamaleava are in active contract negotiations ahead of the 2025 season, @PeteNakos_ reports.
— On3 (@On3sports) April 10, 2025
It is unclear if the negotiations will impact whether he enters the spring transfer portal.
Intel: https://t.co/hKystSE5ZY pic.twitter.com/8nl3LkbYa6
This comes two years after Tennessee reportedly gave Iamaleava $8 million to come to Knoxville in the first place.
In 2023, that type of NIL contract seemed astronomical and was expected to change the NIL landscape going forward. Iamaleava's demands and Heupel and Tennessee's response this week seem to have set another precedent in the NIL era going forward. Tennessee could have given Iamaleava more money which would have then led to more holdouts across the sport. With Heupel standing on business it likely won't give players the leverage to do so.
