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Nico Iamaleava
USA TODAY
When Nico Iamaleava signed a blockbuster NIL deal with Tennessee coming out of high school that paid him a reported $2 million per year, that was the opening salvo in what has been a money train run wild.
Depending on which reporting you believe over the last 24 hours, either Iamaleava is working to renegotiate that deal in the $4 million-per-year range as the market for quarterbacks – especially in the SEC – has gone up even though Iamaleava’s father has denied having any idea.
MORE IAMALEAVA: Is Iamaleava headed to the portal? | Nic Iamaleava denies report
According to a source, Iamaleava, who missed Tennessee’s practice on Friday, has not talked to Tennessee’s collective – Spyre Sports Group – in months. There is some chatter floating around that sources in Knoxville are floating these Iamaleava renegotiation rumors to play hardball.
The situation is too fluid to really grasp any firm details at the moment. It’s unclear what Iamaleava’s plan is for Saturday’s spring game.
But the narratives floating out from some media insiders on Friday are laughable at best and foolish at worst.
Take 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge for example, calling Iamaleava a “mediocre player who’s strong-arming a university’s booster base into more cash or he’ll leave.”
Or 680TheFan’s BarrettSallee, formerly of CBS Sports, saying Iamaleava, “isn’t that good. … Tennessee would be fine moving on and finding somebody else.”
Or Fox Sports’ ChrisFallica pointing out that Iamaleavea threw 19 touchdowns last season – 11 of them coming against Chattanooga, UTEP and Vanderbilt.
Rapid Tennessee homer ClayTravis said: “Not my call, but with Nico no-showing practice at Tennessee, I’d cut bait. You can’t have a team leader this immature. Really poor decision by his family. Whatever he makes in college is a pinprick of what he could make in the NFL one day if he matures into a pro QB.”
Let’s just remember a few things and put some others into context: Last season was Iamaleava’s first as a starter. He certainly didn’t have an historical year but even many recent No. 1 quarterback draft picks have.
Caleb Williams threw for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns in his first season at Oklahoma against Big 12 defenses. He transferred to USC, following coach LincolnRiley, and completely dominated.
Kyler Murray was a disaster in his first season at Texas A&M, throwing five touchdowns and seven interceptions. What would the Aggies have paid to keep him in College Station and not transfer to Oklahoma, where he threw 42 TDs in 2018?
Baker Mayfield threw 12 TDs and nine picks in his one season at Texas Tech before transferring to Oklahoma, where he threw 119 touchdowns in three seasons.
Joe Burrow did nothing at Ohio State for three years, coach UrbanMeyer didn’t think much of him, and then he transferred to LSU where he threw 60 touchdowns in 2019 in one of the best performances in college football history. If the Buckeyes only paid up and developed him there, what could have been?
Of recent No. 1 quarterbacks, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Alabama’s Bryce Young were outliers. When they stepped on the field, they dominated. But if the thought on Iamaleava is that he's overrated and isn’t worth a couple extra million dollars because he's not like Young and Lawrence, then those are unrealistic expectations.
Iamaleava was the No. 2 prospect in the 2023 class for numerous reasons. He has insane arm talent, he is a freak athlete, he can dominate football games. So he didn’t throw for 40 touchdowns right out of the gate in Knoxville.
He also wasn’t surrounded by world-class receivers. Lawrence had Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross in his freshman season. Young was throwing to Jameson Williams and John Metchie and had an offensive line that wouldn’t let him be touched.
Let’s also remember that Iamaleava was a big part in getting Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season, its first-ever appearance, and lost to eventual national champ Ohio State.
The Vols have had double-digit win totals twice in the last 17 seasons – once in 2022 and last year in Iamaleava’s first season.
Maybe missing practice – and potentially the spring game – will be a PR blunder that Iamaleava cannot come back from. Maybe Knoxville has turned on him. Some in the media certainly have with the lens of one season, forgetting that not everyone is a miracle worker from Day 1.
Maybe this NIL world of paying players now demands instant success or the player is a bum.
Iamaleava is the furthest thing from that.
Tennessee should be on its hands and knees begging him not to enter the transfer portal. Pay that man his money, even if the negotiations weren’t exactly handled like they would be in Entourage. Not everyone is as sleek as AriGold.
Losing Iamaleava would a disaster for the Vols. Williams, Murray and Mayfield all left. Which fan from those programs wouldn’t be collecting every penny possible to get them back?
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