Tighten your belt! If you have seen the latest Nico Iamaleava spring game opt-out over a NIL disagreement and lost your cool, there’s more to your blowup. Remember when the Buckeyes scored a landslide (42-17) victory against the Vols in the first-round playoff? Well, it could have been even worse if Nico Iamaleava hadn’t been there in the center. If you think the idea is unrealistic, college football analyst Josh Pate has a shocking revelation to share.

Nico Iamaleava is trending and for all the wrong reasons. Last Friday (11th of April), he held off practice after Tennessee denied his demand to renegotiate the multi-year $10 million NIL deal. That’s a regular practice in the NFL, but in college football? Still, a strict no-go! After Nico went beyond the norm, Josh Heupel and the team decided to pull the rug, choosing to let him go in peace.

The 20-year-old will hit the spring portal as one of the most touted players in the market. But that doesn’t seem to be a serious blow to Tennessee. At least, that’s what Heupel wants the fans to believe. He wholeheartedly thanked his second-year quarterback for all the contributions he has made over the years. But at the same time, he keeps the dignity of the program, the game, above everything.

“It’s the state of college football,” Heupel told the in-house Vol Network. “At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me, too. They already have two scholarship quarterbacks, Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre, as the backup. But a little portal scouting is also on the cards. The goal is clear. Let the Nico factor come off as a push to do even better.

But literally nothing, no alternatives, can justify what Iamaleava planned to do during the playoff. The veteran analyst (Josh Pate) fueled the ongoing Iamaleava frustration, revealing more dreadful intel on his intention. “This past December, cats like Nico Iamaleava almost held out of playoff games. Because they were trying to renegotiate contracts in the middle of a playoff run,” Pate said. “He wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t the only one.” Sick! Absolutely! We are sitting back with a tub of popcorn in our hands, watching the college football NIL equation spiral into a certified hell! This may come as a shock, yet it is a reality.

Fans have had enough of this! Just one more jolt, and they will be done watching college football for good. The empty stadium, dwindling viewership, and the business fall trap are your hassle to carry! But before you freak out, take a moment to listen to their no-nonsense logic.

College football fans slammed the NIL system over the Nico Iamaleava controversy 

Threatening your school, teammates, and coaches with snubbing a playoff as a starting QB of the team is not only unethical but also an extremely unsporting move. Sensing the destruction, one fan rightfully lamented, “College sports are cooked!” It really is. Players are the epitome of a team. If they only look out for a bigger paycheck, overlooking all the opportunities to grow as an individual and collectively, it’s a direct blow to the backbone of the sports. Fans are not going to let it slide without a huge backlash. They repeatedly called out the system for that. Nico is just an easy scapegoat here. “They have destroyed the sport. It has now become a minor league system to develop players for the NFL,” one sports freak wrote in the comments. 

The most disheartening and threatening part of the news is that it’s just the beginning. If NIL continues to become the pivotal part of a player’s commitment, we can’t even think of where we are heading. Another user dropped a correct metaphor, saying, “They opened Pandora’s box.”. Nico Iamaleava racked up a total of 2616 yards, 19 TDs, and 5 interceptions in his sophomore season at Knoxville. But at what cost?

Fans continue to echo the bitter answer: “Unregulated transfer portal with no tampering provisions and NIL money has distorted college sports. The game will suffer, and so too the fans.” The game will undergo a lot of twists and turns going forward, and it’s a no-brainer that it won’t please you as a fan. So, you don’t have any option except getting bulked up to weather the storm by hook or crook. Some are already tapping into the mindset and wrote, “I’m about to take up hunting in the fall. Not the same game anymore.