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Tennessee, Starting Quarterback Nico Iamaleava Split Amid NIL Contract Dispute
Two years after Tennessee reportedly gave Iamaleava $8 million to come to Knoxville in the first place, the starting quarterback was looking for more NIL money from the Vols and when those negotiations fell apart, Tennesee decided to move on from the quarterback on Saturday and Iamaleava will enter the transfer portal when it opens on Wednesday.
One day after Iamaleava skipped the Vols practice and meetings on Friday and following Tennessee's spring game on Saturday, head coach Josh Heupel had a strong statement about the situation involving Iamaleava.
"This program has been around for a long time," Heupel said after his team's spring game. "There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they're gone."
Kudos to you, Heupel.
The redshirt freshman was making $2.4 million but wanted a pay raise to $4 million, the type of demand that Tennessee wouldn't meet.
In 2023, Iamaleava's $8 million 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.
Rece Davis Rejects FOX, Signs Lucrative New Deal with ESPN
Despite an all-out push from FOX, Rece Davis has signed a seven-year deal to remain at ESPN for "tens of millions", a deal that includes a hometown discount for ESPN, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand.
The lucrative deal will keep Davis, who has been with ESPN and the host of College GameDay since 1995, with the Worldwide Leader in Sports for both football and basketball through the end of ESPN's current College Football Playoff media rights agreement which ends in 2032.
Not only was FOX looking to lure Davis to replace Rob Stone as host of Big Noon Kickoff during college football season, but he also would have called college basketball games and led FOX's coverage of the 2026 Men's World Cup.
Western Michigan Beats Boston University to Win Its First Frozen Four Championship
Western Michigan, hockey school?
To cap off their first Frozen Four appearance in the program's 52-year history, the Broncos dominated Boston University, 6-2, Saturday night to secure their first Frozen Four championship.
JUBILATION
— ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2025
WESTERN MICHIGAN WINS ITS FIRST MEN'S HOCKEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP pic.twitter.com/HCDr1bHTNs
No. 1-seeded Western Michigan (34-7-1), its winningest season in school history, won 10 straight games to conclude its season, capping it off with a national championship. Boston, meanwhile, finishes the season 24-14-2.
While beating Boston, a five-time Frozen Four champion, Western Michigan became the fourth program to win the title in its championship game debut, along with Denver (1958), Cornell (1967) and Lake Superior State (1988)
ICYMI
Mylan Graham Enters Second Season “Way More Confident,” Prepared to Contribute Any Way He Can
Mylan Graham feels “way more confident” this spring as he strives to provide Ohio State with an explosive weapon off the bench at wide receiver.
Ross Bjork on Ohio State Basketball: “We Have Blue-Blood Elements in Our History, and We Need to Be More Consistent”
Ross Bjork says he expects Ohio State basketball to be much better than it’s been in recent years. “We have blue-blood elements in our history, and we need to be more consistent.”
Mylan Graham, Julian Sayin, Payton Pierce Among Top 14 Standouts From Ohio State's Spring Game
Mylan Graham's dynamic day catching the ball, Julian Sayin's command and Payton Pierce's sideline-to-sideline impact headline the standouts from Ohio State's spring game.
WHAT’S NEXT
- 139 Days: Season opener vs. Texas
- 202 Days: Jim Knowles returns to Columbus
- 230 Days: The Game
