Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not attend spring practice on Friday morning, according to multiple sources, which has turned this entire ordeal with the Vols quarterback and the school into a massive frenzy around college football.
The absence from practice comes one day after it was reported by On3 that Tennessee and Iamaleava were in ongoing negotiations surrounding a new deal for the quarterback. If you remember, Nico signed an $8 million deal coming out of high school, which would pay him around $2.4 million for the upcoming season.
There were conversations about increasing his yearly salary in a substantial way, but it’s not as if Tennessee would give into every demand.
This is when things started to take a turn, as representatives for the quarterback had been looking for a restructured deal that would see Nico’s yearly price tag rise. But, there is now a very contentious situation inside the Tennessee football complex, which obviously escalated when the quarterback did not show up for a walk-through type of practice on Friday, just one day before the Vols’ spring game.
This news came as a surprise to folks inside the Tennessee football building, as they expected their quarterback to show up.
In regard to the ‘contract negotiations,’ Nico’s father, Nic, took to social media late Thursday night to call out a reporter, while at the same time acting as if there was nothing going on regarding contract talks and the quarterback. So, while Nico’s handler, along with his father, released a statement on social media, you’ve now got a volcano that is about to erupt on the Tennessee campus.
Games Certainly Being Played Off The Field With Nico Iamaleava
Talking with multiple sources over the past 24 hours, there are certainly games being played behind the scenes. There has been a sense of frustration around the team, even with Nico Iamaleava having a solid spring up to this point. But, when internal business is put out into the open, things can change very quickly.
From Tennessee’s standpoint, if you cave to one player’s demands, you’re opening the door for multiple others to walk into the office and ask for more money. Whether folks like it or not, this is now professional sports. But, there are ways this type of stuff is handled in the NFL, NBA or even MLB, and not showing up while you’re being paid is not the smartest of strategies.
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 12: Nico Iamaleava #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers plays against the Florida Gators during their game at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Now, Josh Heupel has a very important decision to make regarding the future of his football program. Do you allow something like this to go down, even if he loves his quarterback? This is a business now, and players have to be held accountable. In the same way that schools have to be held in check if they are trying to get one over on a player.
This is why the situation feels like it will be hard to come back from. As I wrote on Thursday, once the news of a contract negotiation was brought to light, Nico Iamaleava was going to have to answer questions about this situation, with the first ones coming on Saturday afternoon. Tennessee was not going to shy away from the situation and keep the starting quarterback from speaking with the media, to shield him from questions.
So, it was either get with the program, handle your business behind the scenes, or take another school’s bag and move on.
Right now, Tennessee is the hottest subject in college football, for all the wrong reasons.
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