After contentious NIL negotiations and a surprising holdout from spring practice, the Tennessee Volunteers decided they had had enough of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
On Saturday, reports emerged that head coach Josh Heupel had told his 20-year-old signal caller to hit the transfer portal.
Iamaleava skipped team meetings and practice on Friday after demanding a new $4 million NIL contract. It was the latest symptom of the new legalized pay-for-play system college football has settled on after multiple legal decisions in recent years.
Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision. pic.twitter.com/BsdhJMDXiz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2025
According to ESPN's Chris Low, this was the second time Iamaleava's representatives made the demands ahead of the portal closure. Tennessee officials said they “weren’t going to blink," per Low.
“I’m proud of the stand we took as a university," former Volunteers head coach Phillip Fulmer told The Athletic on Saturday.
Tennessee removed all traces of Nico Iamaleava from Neyland Stadium after NIL dispute
The program wasted no time emphasizing its culture is focused on "we" and not on "me," removing all mentions of Iamaleava from its facilities in less than 24 hours after Heupel's decision.
Guess whose photo used to be here in Tennessee media room.
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) April 12, 2025
Neyland Stadium has been wiped clean.
It’s sorta remarkable how quickly UT did that throughout stadium, in team store, on videos, etc. pic.twitter.com/OH8zjVpCHP
Knox News' Adam Sparks noted that Iamaleava's image was nowhere to be found in the stadium's team store or in any videos being played throughout the facility.
The face of Tennessee football may likely fall to another position other than QB considering Heupel has four passers with little starting experience, let alone notoriety. He may have to take to the transfer portal himself to find a star signal caller or risk throwing one of his backups into action for 2025.
The Volunteers' quick action appears to be a strong example being set for other programs to not give in to player demands regardless of how much talent they bring. Miami's Mario Cristobal applauded Heupel's decision and affirmed that he would do the same should the occasion arise in Coral Gables. Ironically, Miami agreed to a $4 million NIL deal with former Georgia QB Carson Beck back in January.