One fortnight is an eternity in college football this time of year. Merely 10 days ago, Nico Iamaleava was gearing up for a spring game in Neyland Stadium in preparation for his 3rd season with the Tennessee Vols, 2nd as QB1. Present day, he’s traversing the transfer portal. Rocky Top has well and truly been rocked as Nico got shown the true might of the Power T. But his short stint in the literal portal and in a figurative state of flux has come to an end. Nico’s arriving at his new home, the UCLA Bruins. Which ironically doubles as a homecoming to his native Cali. However, is this a last-ditch “salvage what you can” move for the maligned player? Or is this transpiring into his best-case dream scenario?

For the uninitiated, let’s get you up to speed with this ordeal that has enveloped the sport unlike anything else, ever. Nico Iamaleava and his entourage, which mainly runs through his father, force the Tennessee brass and NIL collective into a renegotiation. He’s raking in a cool $2 million annually but wants more. Well, they did tell Icarus not to fly too close to the sun. Tennessee shut down these advances, but the existence of these negotiations came out to the public. Naturally, Nico Iamaleava faced the full wrath of Vol fans. But instead of nipping this in the bud, his camp doubled down. Nico missed the final spring practice before the scrimmage. This was enough for HC Josh Heupel to cut ties forcibly. Now, you’d hope the Iamaleava clan had a contingency plan for if things went up in flames like they did. Turns out, it was UCLA.

It would’ve been naive, almost delusional, to enter a contract negotiation with Tennessee and ask for double your current deal unless there was a school offering it. Nico Iamaleava was good last season, even leading the Vols to the CFP. But he wasn’t $4 million worth of “good.” He and his people got cake in their faces, but it’s not the end of the world. Nico did enter the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag. This suggested that he was already aware of his destination. Reports linking him to UCLA emerged and quickly gained traction. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported Nico Iamaleava to UCLA was “expected” to happen. But On3’s Pete Nakos, who broke this entire story initially, said this wasn’t a “done deal.” Now, on this bright Easter Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports Nico will indeed be basking in that LA sunshine.

Over on X, Pete Thamel wrote, “Sources: The UCLA staff has informed the team’s current quarterbacks of the expected transfer of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava to UCLA. This is a key step that shows the discussions between UCLA and Iamaleava are significant. A formal decision is expected in the near future.” Since this report, Nico has himself announced his move. Now that we’ve leaped past that hurdle, it poses the next question. Is Nico Iamaleava getting his asking price of $4 million at UCLA? Initially, this wasn’t expected to be the case. However, it became a strong possibility after athletic director Martin Jarmond commented about the imminent House Settlement.

When murmurs around Iamaleava’s move to the Bruins initially cropped up, it was reported he’d stand to make less than the $2 million he was already making at Tennessee. The rationale is straightforward. There aren’t a lot of programs in the market for a quarterback in the spring portal. Additionally, the SEC bylaws dictate a player transferring in the spring window isn’t eligible to play for a fellow conference member. So an intra-SEC move was off the cards as well. With demand being low, in tandem with his smeared image, UCLA has a ton of leverage. They, in theory, are setting the market for Nico Iamaleava. The figures floating have been around the $1.5 million mark. But it turns out Nico wouldn’t have to hold this giant L after all. He may yet get his asking price, if the courts oblige.

UCLA AD implies Nico Iamaleava will receive his asking price of $4 million

The NCAA vs. House Settlement, meant to usher in a new era of revenue sharing and player reimbursement, among other things, is pending final approval. If it does get passed, schools’ athletic departments can distribute up to $20.5 million to players. That’s in addition to the current NIL framework in place. This implies that there are increased opportunities and a greater amount of money available. In terms of UCLA, this is particularly positive. Since realigning from the Pac-12 to the Big 1o, their revenue streams have multiplied. This means that they can afford to pay student-athletes the full $20.5 million rather comfortably. But will they?

“If the House settlement is accepted, as a member of the Big Ten Conference, in order to recognize the contributions of our student-athletes and continue to compete at an elite level, UCLA has committed to sharing the highest allowable amount of revenue,” said AD Martin Jarmond to the Athletic earlier this week. Despite football not being the primary athletic program at the university, it still has the biggest market. Meaning it’ll also receive the biggest piece of that $20.5 million pie. The Athletic reports that “roughly 75% of that number is expected to be earmarked for football on most campuses. That’s also true at UCLA.” If UCLA indeed is going to spend close to $15 million on their roster, shedding $4 million for Nico Iamaleava becomes palpable. In fact, it almost becomes justifiable.

The remainder of UCLA’s roster isn’t filled to the brim with talent. Nico Iamaleava, in some ways, will be the big fish in a small pond. So, dishing out $4 million on him to exponentially increase the strength of the team is a viable strategy. Nico Iamaleava, despite his scarred image, is still a fringe top-10 QB in the sport. His arrival really could make the Bruins competitive in the B1G. Rather than become an afterthought amid its blue-chip powerhouses. It appears the passing of the House Settlement is a matter of if, not when. If Nico actually does wind up coming out a winner out of this entire situation, you’d almost have to tip your hat to him. But this is still conjecture at this point. The actual figures of his deal should hit the airwaves sooner rather than later.