Well, this is a new one.
On3 reported Thursday that Tennessee and Nico Iamaleava are in “active negotiations” to the quarterback a new contract ahead of the spring transfer portal window opening next Wednesday, April 16. The article includes plenty of soft language — it opens by saying it’s a move “many around the program expected” and that Iamaleava “is happy at Tennessee and has a strong relationship with coach Josh Heupel.” The implication is so clear that it doesn’t need to be said, but On3 notes that “it remains unclear if those negotiations will impact” Iamaleava’s decision to enter the portal next week.
A 5-star recruit out of Long Beach, Iamaleava was the first recruit believed to have signed a mega-NIL deal before enrolling in school. In March 2022, The Athletic reported a recruit, later revealed to be Iamaleava, signed an $8 million NIL deal that paid him $350,000 “almost immediately,” and in then in monthly installments totaling in the neighborhood of $2 million a year for his first three years on campus. Iamaleava is now entering the final year of that contract, but the market for top-level college quarterbacks has now surpassed that deal. Carson Beck (Georgia to Miami) and Darian Mensah (Tulane to Duke) both got $3 million to transfer, and Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, got the same amount to sign with Michigan, On3 reports.
Iamaleava redshirted behind Joe Milton in 2023, then stepped into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in ’24, where he had a good year, not a great year. The 6-foot-6 Californian became the first freshman quarterback to win 10 regular-season games at Tennessee, but tied for seventh in the SEC in passer rating. In the Vols’ toughest games — the losses to Arkansas, Georgia and Ohio State, plus the win over Alabama — Iamaleava was 65-of-120 for 623 yards (5.19 ypa) with one touchdown and one interception.
Tennessee could likely press that fact in a negotiation to try to talk Iamaleava down from top-of-the-market dollars, but then of course runs the risk of seeing its starting quarterback hit the portal, where he would likely earn $3 million or more elsewhere. And, crucially, Tennessee would more than likely have to pay the magical $3 million figure to get someone else’s starter. Behind Iamaleava, the only quarterbacks on Tennessee’s spring roster are redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger (nine passes in 2024) and true freshman George MacIntyre.
All signs in the incentive structure point toward Tennessee biting down and meeting Iamaleava’s asking price — for 2025 and 2025 alone. If he has a great season, Iamaleava likely goes pro. If he has a great season and returns to college football, it’s highly unlikely Tennessee would go to the negotiating table three times in four years with the same player, especially considering what a desperate team would pay for a proven quarterback. And if he has a poor season, the relationship between program, quarterback and fan base would be fractured beyond repair.
Either way, this is not the first player to hold his program/exert maximum leverage ahead of an opening window in college football’s portal era. But it is the first time a negotiation has been so public, and so expensive.
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