Colorado was on the brink. Not just of a playoff berth, but of a full-blown resurrection. The 2024 season flipped the script—from 4-8 nobodies to 9-4 contenders, with Travis Hunter flying like a cheat code and Shedeur Sanders slinging it like an NFL vet on a college budget. But now? Both are gone. Just memories in highlight reels. And now, with a fresh Big 12 schedule staring them down like a pack of wolves, the Buffaloes have to find a new alpha. Enter the chaos: a $3.1M quarterback move, a fired-up transfer, a five-star freshman, and a national media frenzy throwing Deion Sanders into the NIL battlefield.

So here’s the tea: Nico Iamaleava, the golden boy out of Tennessee with the jaw-dropping $3.1M NIL tag, just blew up his own spot. Nico Iamaleava ghosted a Friday practice and meeting, probably thinking his absence would shake up negotiations. Instead, it blew up the whole marriage. Coach Josh Heupel wasn’t here for the dramatics and shut it down—straight up told the team Nico was done before the Orange and White Spring Game. Just like that, Tennessee’s $3.1M-a-year arm was on the market after failing to secure a 4 million per year NIL contract, and folks lost their minds linking him to the Buffs.

But here’s the plot twist Colorado fans didn’t expect—Coach Prime? He’s not buying what Nico’s selling. Colorado insider Jake Schwanitz dropped a truth bomb on X: “From what I’ve heard Colorado has no interest in Nico Iamaleava.” Cold, clear, and straight to the point. Why? Because Kaidon Salter just stepped out of the tunnel in Boulder with that 2023 swagger still dripping from his cleats, and he’s not exactly trying to play second fiddle here.

Let’s not get it twisted—Salter’s 2024 stats at Liberty were mid. 1,886 yards, 15 touchdowns, 6 picks… not eye-popping. But rewind to 2023? Man was a human highlight reel—2,876 passing yards, over 1,000 rushing, and a one-man wrecking crew in Liberty’s New Year’s Six Bowl run. Colorado’s OC Pat Shurmur saw that film and called dibs. The Buffs wanted a bridge QB for Julian Lewis to settle. They aren’t paying $4M per year to anyone, especially someone who stat-padded against UTEP and Vandy.

And speaking of bridges—Salter just laid the first brick. On Darius Sanders’ Reach The People Media podcast, Salter didn’t hold back. “Once you are that starting quarterback at a young age… the team just starts movin’ how you want it to move on the field.” Translation? “I been him. I still am him.” Kaidon Salter low-key named himself as a starter, indirectly. Confidence or delusional? Look, the whole self-belief ain’t fake—it’s built from reps. Liberty molded a field general, and now Coach Prime’s system might turn him into something even nastier.

But this isn’t just about Salter. Colorado is also sitting on Julian “JuJu” Lewis, a four-star prodigy who’s been eyed as the next big thing. And throwing Nico into that mix? It’s like tossing a grenade in a locker room smoothie. JuJu’s development would stall, Salter’s shot would get hijacked, and Coach Prime would end up spending more time managing egos than running plays. But nobody has time for that—not in the Big 12 jungle they’re about to walk into.

Nico Iamaleava to Boulder?

Let’s not even play pretend here. Nico pulling up to Boulder would be like trying to fit a Ferrari in a drive-thru—looking slick but just not built for that layout. On paper, yeah, he’s flashy. But facts don’t lie: 2,616 yards, 19 TDs, ninth in QB rating in the SEC. That’s… fine. But it isn’t Shedeur-level. And 8 of those TDs came in two stat-padding games. No disrespect to UTEP and Vandy, but come on now—those are backyard football numbers.

The Buffs, meanwhile, are still nursing their wounds from losing Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. 9–4 last season was a glow-up from 4–8, but now they’re diving into a conference full of sharks without their two main weapons. The last thing they need is to burn what’s left of their NIL pot on a QB who just got benched over money squabbles. Coach Prime said it best: “Colorado ain’t an ATM.” Translation: we ain’t Tennessee. And let’s be real—CU’s NIL funds don’t stretch like that. You wanna play in Boulder? Better come for the smoke, not the stacks.

Deion Sanders doesn’t usually see eye to eye with players when it comes to NIL and entitled players: “When kids come to play for me at Colorado, they come to play for me and the coaching staff that we’ve assembled, They hadn’t come to play for money because I let them know that will maintain you. That pro contract is gonna sustain you, so we’re chasing that thing.” Deion Sanders said on First Take. “I don’t attract those type of kids that’s playing for a bag.”

Even Matt Hayes from USA Today had to throw his two cents in: “If CU coach Deion Sanders could get Iamaleava, it would be a game-changer.” Well, that’s an unlikely scenario. The point is that this whole idea ignores what’s actually cooking in Boulder. Kaidon’s already here, JuJu’s developing, and Coach Prime isn’t trying to reset the board for a dude who couldn’t hold down his SEC gig.

Truth is, Iamaleava going to CU would be bad business. Bad for the QB room chemistry, bad for Lewis’ growth, and bad for Colorado’s checkbook. This isn’t a Madden trade—this is real college football, and Boulder’s already chosen its route. Unless Nico’s willing to cut that price tag, change his attitude, and maybe bring his own cleats and Gatorade, he isn’t stepping onto Folsom Field.