Nicholaus “Nico,” Iamaleava is the sensation of college football, surprised everyone with one after other hit performances in the 2024 college football season. However, Tennessee’s quarterback could not save his team, losing to Arkansas after winning his first five career games. Have you watched that game? Nico looked quite comfortable when he was out of the pocket, and Tennessee’s struggling offense was the major problem in their loss to Arkansas. “He lets it rip, and it’s beautiful. He makes a few throws and you’re like yes, YES,” said Joel Klatt, praising Nico’s game even after losing to Arkansas. Besides, do you have any idea how his NIL valuation is reflected after this season’s performance?

As per On3 Nil valuation’s latest update, Nico’s NIL valuation is around $1.9 million, placing him among the elite players of college football. His NIL valuation includes his annual turnover from the brand endorsements and promotions he does by using his Name, Image, and Likeness.

Added to that, social media fan following also plays a huge role in a player’s NIL valuation. Over 171,000 people follow him on Instagram and he’s quite active as well with sharing his brand endorsements and promoting them using his Instagram popularity.

The number of brands approaching him after his performance this season is wild! In one of his big deals, Iamaleava recently signed a deal with ‘Beats by Dre’ and joined the “Beats Elite” squad of their college athletes program. He also got a few sets of custom-made Vols-themed headphones, which he shared with his teammates.

On top of that, Nico also shook hands with ‘Force Factor’, which is a health and wellness supplement company. However, the exact figures of how much Nico is getting paid out of this deal are not public. Looking at his total NIL valuations, he must be getting big bucks from them. Besides that, let’s look at his performance on the field.

Nick Iamaleava’s football journey

Standing at 6-foot-6 and 195- pounds, Nico Iamaleava has a gifted physique complementing his top-tier quarterback spot. Born on September 2, 2004, Nico was born and brought up in Long Beach, California. From an early age, he developed a passion for playing football. To live that dream, he joined Warren High School and to pursue his other career options; he joined Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

As a testament to his skills, he completed 1726 passing yards and 25 touchdowns with six rushing touchdowns as a senior dual-threat quarterback. Toward the end of his high school career, he received five-star ratings from most of the recruiters in the 2023 class. to start his collegiate career, Nico enrolled at the University of Tennessee in December 2022 and never looked back.

His career debut was in the 2023 Citrus Bowl and in the very first game against Iowa, he made waves. Nico threw for 151 yards and scored a passing touchdown while rushing for three touchdowns, helping his team secure a 35-0 victory. For that game, he earned the MVP title as well. When the 2024 season started, fans had high hopes for him given his past performances. However, Nico maintained his stardom by throwing 314 yards and three touchdowns for Tennessee’s  69-3 win. With that, analysts are already predicting his bright future in college football.