Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee’s $2 million QB, absent from practice amid NIL talks: Sources

By Ralph Russo, David Ubben and Sam Khan Jr.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not attend practice Friday, according to a program source familiar with the situation, raising questions about his future with the Volunteers less than a week before the spring transfer portal window opens.

Iamaleava’s absence from practice, a day before Tennessee’s scheduled spring game, was unexpected, said the person, who spoke to The Athletic on condition of anonymity because the practice was closed to the public.

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Two other people briefed on the situation said there are ongoing talks between the player’s representatives and the name, image and likeness collective that supports the school’s athletes about reworking his contract.

On3 first reported Thursday that Iamaleava was re-negotiating his deal with the group. Iamaleava’s father, Nic, criticized that report in a social media post.

“More games being played off the field than on the field,” he posted.

Iamaleava is heading into his third season at Tennessee, his second as the starter. The former five-star recruit from California was among the first players reported to receive a multi-million dollar NIL deal from a collective.

That deal with the Vol Club ended up drawing scrutiny from NCAA investigators, which led to the attorney general of Tennessee suing the NCAA and the association dropping its rules against using NIL as a recruiting inducement.

This was to be the last season of Iamaleava’s original four-year, $8 million deal, which was set to pay him $2.2 million this year. The market for starting quarterbacks has gone up. Former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck received a deal reportedly worth $4 million to transfer to Miami earlier this year.

If Iamaleava were to enter the transfer portal, he would only be immediately eligible to play at a school outside the SEC. Although the NCAA tweaked its transfer rules to allow undergraduates to transfer without penalty, the SEC still has a conference rule that’s more restrictive.

If an SEC player wishes to transfer to another school within the conference, he must enter the portal before Feb. 1. That means, essentially, that player must enter during the winter transfer portal window, which ran from Dec. 9-28, though there are additonal five-day windows for players whose seasons last beyond the winter portal dates.

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Iamaleava helped the Volunteers reach the College Football Playoff last year with a solid sophomore season. He threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, and Tennessee’s season ended with a blowout loss to eventual national champion Ohio State in the first round of the CFP.

Tennessee is expected to be a top 25 team again this season, though how well it fares in the rugged SEC will probably have a lot to do with how close Iamaleava comes to reaching that five-star potential. The Volunteers don’t have much in the way of experience behind him on the depth chart. Jake Merklinger, a redshirt freshman who played in two games last season, is considered the likely No. 2 behind Iamaleava.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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