So it turns out that when you put a specific dollar value on a rare commodity — say, the ability to play quarterback at a high level — and you allow people who possess that skill the freedom to shop their talent to the highest bidder … well, you’re setting the stage for chaos.
“Chaos” might be too gentle of a term for the state of college football right now. The latest shock wave: Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava effectively holding out for more money on the eve of the Vols’ annual Orange and White spring game. Iamaleava was a surprise no-show at Friday’s Vols practice, and storm clouds have gathered over what was a promising 2025 season.
Iamaleava joined the Vols in 2022 on an NIL deal that pays him a reported $2 million per year. At the time, it seemed like a stunning payment — or overpayment — but just two years later, it’s looking like a bargain. Carson Beck, for instance, reportedly got $4 million to jump from Georgia to Miami, and Duke’s Darian Mensah is reportedly pocketing a similar figure. (NIL figures can be tricky to nail down.)
The difference between those two players and Iamaleava, though, is that they entered the transfer portal to maximize their earning potential … and you’ll never guess what opens up next Wednesday. Hence, Iamaleava is apparently looking to secure a bigger bag with an obvious, if unspoken threat:
If you don’t want me suiting up elsewhere next year, pay up now.
The challenge for Tennessee — and Iamaleava knows this — is that the Vols ascended to a higher plane in 2024, reaching the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Iamaleava deserves a large share of the credit for that; he threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns against five interceptions last season (including the playoff game). With Iamaleava under center, Tennessee averaged over 35 points per game last season in a 10-3 campaign.
A holdout puts all that at risk, and sours all the goodwill coming out of the past two seasons of the Josh Heupel era. But while Iamaleava and his reps have incited this incident, they’re only playing by the rules as they exist — or don’t — right now. And they’re likely the first of many to do so.
