By Ralph D. Russo and David Ubben
The marriage of Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava, which started with an unprecedented name, image and likeness contract, is concluding before the terms of that deal even run out.
The quarterback’s brief holdout ended with a breakup.
Iamaleava submitted the paperwork to enter the transfer portal and is not expected to return to Tennessee, two people briefed on the situation told The Athletic on Saturday.
The resolution came after attempts to rework his contract with a Tennessee collective went public earlier this week, creating what essentially became an NFL-style holdout.
“I’m proud of the stand we took as a university,” former Tennessee coach and athletic director Phillip Fulmer told The Athletic.
On3 was first to report Iamaleava’s representatives were looking to renegotiate his original four-year deal worth $8 million.
Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last year as a redshirt freshman, unexpectedly missed practice and team meetings Friday, heightening the angst in Knoxville.
After the Volunteers’ spring game Saturday, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel confirmed the program is moving forward without the third-year quarterback in its plans. He said there was no communication with Iamaleava on Friday about missing practice.
“Today’s landscape of college football is different than what it has been. And, you know, it’s unfortunate, just the situation and where we’re at with Nico,” Heupel said. “I want to thank him for everything that he’s done since he’s gotten here.”
He added: “I said to the guys today, there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T. And that includes me.”
The Orange and White game drew about 30,000 fans to Neyland Stadium.
Not every fan at Tennessee’s spring game got the memo about Nico Iamaleava 😅
📸 @davidubben pic.twitter.com/RVaRqPOH2f
— The Athletic CFB (@TheAthleticCFB) April 12, 2025
A few days ago, much of the spring buzz around the Vols was about how a rebuilt group of receivers could boost Iamaleava’s development in his second season as a starter.
Instead, Iamaleava was nowhere to be found, and most of the reps went to redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre.
MacIntyre, a four-star recruit from outside Nashville, got the biggest cheer of the day when introduced and then delivered a long touchdown pass to Radarius Jackson on the opening drive.
“As a program, since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QBs,” Heupel said. “Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger. But we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go in and help us compete for a championship.”
Merklinger, who appeared in two games last season and attempted nine passes, is Tennessee’s most likely in-house option to be QB1. The Vols are also likely to seek help through the transfer portal when the spring window opens Wednesday.
Heupel joked about holding open tryouts for another quarterback.
“With only two scholarship players at the quarterback position, we’ll have to find another guy,” he said.
Heupel led the team through the pregame Vol Walk after a morning meeting with his players, where he let them know Iamaleava was no longer a part of the squad.
The coach received a massive ovation from the waiting fans when he got off the team bus to walk to the stadium.
Vol fans out in droves a few hours early to welcome the team to the stadium. pic.twitter.com/8rSfQWPlEf
— David Ubben (@davidubben) April 12, 2025
Iamaleava, who is from Southern California, made headlines in 2022 when he signed that $8 million NIL contract with Spyre Sports Group — which runs the collective that works with Tennessee athletes — while he was still in high school.
The state of Tennessee’s attorney general sued the NCAA last year over the use of NIL in recruiting after the NCAA began an investigation into Tennessee over potential recruiting violations involving Iamaleava. A subsequent court injunction and settlement allowed collectives and boosters to negotiate NIL with recruits before their enrollment, further limiting NCAA enforcement.
Iamaleava was set to make around $2.2 million this year, but two people briefed on the situation said he was seeking closer to $4 million.
Iamaleava’s representatives had conversations with other schools — including Miami — looking to gauge interest in the quarterback during the winter transfer portal window, according to the people familiar with the contract situation.
Miami eventually paid Georgia transfer Carson Beck more than $3 million to transfer.
Requests for comment from Iamaleava’s father, Nic, were not immediately returned.
Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions last year as the Vols went 10-3 with a lopsided first-round CFP loss at Ohio State. Eleven of those 19 touchdowns came against Chattanooga, UTEP and Vanderbilt. He was eighth in the SEC in yards per attempt in conference games. Still, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound former five-star recruit has NFL potential.
The hope and expectation at Tennessee was Iamaleava would take another step forward this season, and that would propel the Vols into SEC contention again. Now, he’s a free agent looking for a new home.
That won’t be in the SEC. A conference rule does not allow intraconference transfers in the spring window.
Maybe a return home is in order?
Iamaleava’s younger brother, Madden, was previously committed to UCLA (he eventually signed with Arkansas), and the Bruins have some ties to their family.
UCLA director of player personnel Stacey Ford was a coach at Warren High in Downey, Calif., when Nico was there. The Bruins also have uncertainty at quarterback as they try to replace Ethan Garbers. They added Joey Aguilar from Appalachian State, and he’s projected to be the new starter for second-year coach DeShaun Foster.
As for the Vols, the post-Nico era has begun.
That’s a wrap in Knoxville. Josh Heupel and players speaking with media shortly. pic.twitter.com/1AHy2REGVc
— David Ubben (@davidubben) April 12, 2025
“We’ve got a lot of guys in this group that want to be here,” tight end Miles Kitselman said. “This just makes me even more excited, knowing what’s going to come and how we need to rally together now. That’s what sports are all about. It’s about teams coming together. We don’t have any individuals on this team.”
— The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Chris Vannini contributed to this report.
(Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
