Tennessee Vols move on from starting QB Nico Iamaleava over holdout for more NIL money

As college football completes its transformation into professional football, a contract dispute has led a star quarterback and the team he led to the playoffs to go their separate ways.

Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.

That comes a day after Iamaleava skipped practice in a holdout designed to get more money from Tennessee’s name, image and likeness collective.

NIL money in college football has become massive, with starting quarterbacks making millions of dollars a year. Iamaleava was reportedly slated to make $2.4 million from Tennessee’s NIL collective this season, but he wanted something more like the $4 million that quarterback Carson Beck got when he transferred from Georgia to Miami in January.

Now Iamaleava will have the opportunity to shop himself in the transfer portal to whatever team will pay him the most. The team that lands him will be getting a quarterback who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season. And Tennessee will hope that it can afford a new quarterback will lead them back to the playoff.

In a significant development in college football, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel and athletic director Danny White have decided to part ways with starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava following a reported holdout over a substantial increase in his Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation.​

Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit from Long Beach, California, had been a standout player for Tennessee. In the 2024 season, he threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns, leading the Volunteers to a 10–3 record and a College Football Playoff appearance.

Reports indicate that Iamaleava skipped practices and team meetings on April 11, the day before Tennessee’s spring game, in an attempt to renegotiate his NIL deal. He sought to increase his compensation from $2.4 million to $4 million. In response, the Volunteers opted to move forward without him. Shortly thereafter, Iamaleava announced his transfer to UCLA, where he is expected to earn less than his previous NIL deal

In a reciprocal move, UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar entered the transfer portal and committed to Tennessee. Aguilar, who had transferred to UCLA from Appalachian State, had been in line to be the Bruins’ starting quarterback. He will reportedly receive approximately $1.2 million in NIL compensation at Tennessee, aligning with the amount remaining on his previous deal with UCLA