Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the team after failing to negotiate over his contract. His representatives were pushing to increase the deal from $2.4 million to $4 million, but when he approached school in January, Tennessee declined.
Iamaleava missed practice on Friday before the team’s Orange & White Spring game on Saturday. This is a lot of movement compared to the NFL-style holdout. Now he is scheduled to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday. However, multiple programs are beginning to move away from the situation and are reluctant to be involved in the complexity of events.
On Monday, College Football analyst Josh Patty spoke about the issue, saying:
•
“I think the best thing that could happen for him is when the person representing him publicly takes the arrow and says he’s stepping up and being on top of us. We’ve ruined this.
“At least it gives him the opportunity to fight to restore his image, and at least he gives him the opportunity to fight to play elsewhere.”
Nico Iamaleava forwarding option has been removed
Nico Iamaleava spent most of his freshman season as a backup in 2023. He started out in the citrus bowl, played well and won the MVP. In 2024 he became the starting quarterback for Tennessee, leading his team to the playoffs and a 10-3 record. The skill is there, but he is running out of schools that want him.
He was initially linked to programs like USC, but now the school is reportedly retreating after how things unfolded in Knoxville. Football Scoop’s John Bryce said neither USC nor Notre Dame were interested in him. Zach Burnett also reported that Texas Tech is not planning on chasing him.
Quarterbacks’ asking prices have also fallen. On3 may still want him, but that’s far less than the $2.4 million he’s got along with the volunteers, if he’s willing to play for around $1 million.
After Iamaleava leaves, Tennessee’s options at quarterback are redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George Macintyre.
Read again: Former Cowboys star Dez Bryant suggests the “smartest” destination for Nico Iamareava amid growing interest
Edited by Krutik Jain
