Tennessee Parts Ways with Nico Iamaleava Over $8M NIL Deal and $4M Demand in First Holdout Case

45 posts • Grok (2)

Updated Apr 14, 2025, 06:00 PM

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has announced that the football program will move forward without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has left the team amid a contract dispute over his name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal. Heupel emphasized that 'no one is ever bigger than the program,' a sentiment echoed by several team members and coaches. Iamaleava, who signed an $8 million NIL deal with Tennessee as a high school senior, reportedly sought to renegotiate his contract to increase his annual compensation from $2.2 million to $4 million. His absence from a crucial practice session on Friday, without prior notification, led to the decision to part ways. The quarterback's departure is the first high-profile case of a player attempting to hold out for a better NIL deal, sparking discussions about the evolving dynamics of player compensation and the transfer portal in college sports.

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#Tennessee #Josh Heupel #Nico Iamaleava #Heupel #Iamaleava

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Sources

nytimes.com(8)twitter.com(8)on3.com(3)outkick.com(2)

ESPN College Football

@ESPNCFB

“[The NCAA] should be ashamed that now [Nico Iamaleava] is going to get targeted and pinpointed as the person being selfish, when he’s a kid still.” @danorlovsky7 sounds off on the events surrounding Nico Iamaleava's release from Tennessee 👀 (via @FirstTake) https://t.co/GliA0YKG9u

OutKick

@Outkick

The Nico Iamaleava ordeal at Tennessee is not a new ‘holdout’ trend that will takeover college athletics. It was just bad business. For Tennessee, they’ve moved on, and Nico’s team took a risk that they hope pays off. https://t.co/nrGJHZKlhI