Quarterback Nico Iamaleava recently sought to double his $2 million annual NIL deal, leading to tensions with the Tennessee Volunteers. After missing practice and ceasing communication with coaches, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel confirmed Iamaleava’s exit, emphasizing that no individual is above the program.
Reviews have been mixed:
NEW: Urban Meyer on Nico Iamaleava’s departure:
“Tennessee is screwed. They got a problem.
…Everybody’s saying, ‘Nice job Tennessee, making a stand.’ I’ve got a little comment on that. Tennessee plays Florida usually every year in October.
Can you imagine that game’s going… pic.twitter.com/hJHiaIpnZG
— On3 (@On3sports) April 16, 2025
Longtime ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum is one of the latest to weigh in on the situation.
Hot take on Iamaleava situation: “Stay away”
Finebaum spoke during an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” on Fox 94.5 in Birmingham, Alabama, giving his thoughts on the whole Iamaleava situation. He suggested that Tennessee emerged favorably by not yielding to Iamaleava’s demands, calling it a “critical moment”.
Finebaum also warned teams who might be interested in Iamaleava to think twice.
“I would stay away from him. Buyer beware of this guy,” said Finebaum. “It’s not even Nico. It’s the whole apparatus. Something tells me Nico personally is not personally in the middle of these negotiations. Team Nico is. I mean, there is a toxic feeling about this player because of the attention. Because he is the one everyone is talking about. I would be very careful.”
“Can he help? Sure. We saw that with Tennessee. I mean, if you look at Tennessee’s schedule right now, a couple of games that were Tennessee favored, toss-up games are changing at the moment until Tennessee can clear that up. So, he can impact a football team,” said Finebaum. “But, you also have to decide, what is the cost? Everywhere he goes, there is going to be this halo around him that says, ‘He held out. He asked for money. He’s a problem child. Stay away.’”
As Iamaleava enters the transfer portal, questions loom over his future prospects and the broader implications for NIL negotiations in college football. Finebaum noted that he does believe Iamaleava will produce well where ever he does end up.
“In relation to Nico, I think it was inevitable based on all of the information that was floating out there that he was looking to leave and clearly did not feel like he was getting an appropriate deal. I think it turned out well for Nico,” said Finebaum. “He’s got a chance to go somewhere else, wherever that is. Tennessee may have won the short-term battle. But they have the most obvious question facing them. Who is going to be their quarterback? And how effective is that person going to be?”
Teams in need of a quarterback at the moment will have to decide whether or not Iamaleava is worth the controversy, and it’s likely that at least one will. The question is – which one?
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