The biggest story of the college football offseason was former five-star and two-year starter Nico Iamaleava leaving the Tennessee Volunteers and entering the transfer portal after the Vols reportedly refused to renegotiate the young quarterback’s contract.
While the main story has been about the contract dispute, Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt claims there’s more to the story.
‘A Team Finally Said No’: Joel Klatt on Nico Iamaleava Leaving Tennessee
Fox Sports’ Klatt says that contract disputes have been happening since NIL started, but what’s different about Iamaleava’s situation is that both sides held their ground, saying, “It’s not the first time a school has held its ground, it’s just the first time you heard about it because it’s also the first time a player then also held his ground.”
It’s not the first time a team has said no, but Nico Iamaleava held his ground with Tennessee.
More from @joelklatt on the NIL saga. pic.twitter.com/qyxNit7Ag2
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) April 14, 2025
Klatt said that Iamaleava was “within his rights” for holding his ground, probably implying that the system is at fault, not the team or player.
The NIL landscape is a mess, and everything is working backward. For a college student-athlete to be able to hold out of practice for a contract dispute is utterly absurd and should never happen.
However, Iamaleava isn’t doing anything wrong because the current rules and regulations surrounding NIL allow him to do this.
Klatt also hinted that this isn’t just about money but did not further explain the whole story behind Iamaleava’s leaving the Vols. It’s not clear if there were ulterior reasons behind Iamaleava’s leaving, but it is clear that the current system of NIL is ruining college football.
KEEP READING: Nico Iamaleava’s UNC Commitment Comes With a Fiery 4-Word Clapback Amid NIL Drama
I agree with Klatt that Iamaleava is within his rights to leave, but also that Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel did the college world a favor by standing his ground and not letting this behavior slide at his program.
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