Nico Iamaleava in Tennessee poses a potential threat at any moment, causing chaos in Josh Heupel’s quarterback room. Analysts aren’t even settled on analyzing the growth and risks for the Vols QB1 heading into the spring. However, college football has a unique ability to surprise you. The NIL has already transformed the territory into a free trade war, leaving even the most devoted players in a precarious situation. Nico’s contract talks hit that trigger point as he seeks a new multimillion-dollar NIL just ahead of the spring portal opening on April 16th. On top of that, he skipped Friday’s practice. These should be enough crumbs for you to foresee the future. But the most far-fetched question at this point is: Do the Vols have any Plan B?

Nico was widely anticipated to make a significant impact in his second year and guide Tennessee to the playoffs and beyond. Last year, Heupel’s offensive cornerstone threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. He completed 63.8% of his passes in a 10-3 season. Although Nico was far from a finished product. There has been copious room for growth in downfield accuracy, yards per pass, and dual threat.

When the spring practices started, everything was going fine for Josh Heupel. Nico Iamaleava was in the building. The head coach had challenged him to improve in the 2025 season. And then, some rumors. Here and there! Tension? Talks of a new deal? All of that. When ON3’s Pete Nakos reported that Iamaleava had missed Friday’s practice (April 11), the player’s father called out the reporter for false information. For a few hours, everyone believed that the father must know the truth. And then it unraveled.

Pete Thamel dropped the bombshell today. “Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision.” From missing the practice to the team looking to move on? It escalated rather quickly.

That’s not it. There’s more news. In the last hour, Pete Thamel reported that Iamaleava had submitted his paperwork to enter the transfer portal. It’s all over for Nico at the Vols. Now, what about Tennessee’s future?

Well, they would have two scholarship quarterbacks left on the card, namely Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre. Merklinger, a redshirt freshman, would be next in line as the starter without Iamaleava, while MacIntyre, a true freshman, would be the backup. Whether or not they can really come close to the quality production and the pre-season hype of Iamaleava is a different debate. But they are the safety pills for Heupel for the time being.

Well, this is not just about a quarterback opting out of his school in his sophomore year, it’s about the first quarterback in history who put off practice over an NIL disagreement. It was supposed to make waves in the CFB world.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker slams the nasty college football trend over the recent Nico Iamaleava decision 

The latest to break the silence is Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. He didn’t hold back, venting out frustration on Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s decision to skip spring practices over a NIL deal demand. “College football is a joke now! Y’all mind well, just make college into a semi-pro league! Actually, hold players accountable to the contracts they sign!” he tweeted. He defended how he and his peers used to be during their heyday with Penn State (2018-2020), how they always used to value character and brotherhood over some fluffy paychecks.

 Nico Iamaleava reportedly looks to jump from $2 million to $4 million in his NIL deal each year. He wants double what he’s getting now. And until there’s a green light from Heupel and the staff, he is up in the air. No showing up in the practices, no association with the team at all. It’s not in your regular Bingo card to see some promising quarterback pulling off this move.

The primary goal of the NIL’s introduction was to help student athletes manage their finances, but its current trajectory is quite unexpected. ESPN’s Chris Low reported that Tennessee officials, evidently “surprised” by the move, didn’t initially make a big deal out of it. “Tennessee officials won’t blink’,” he said. Now, it will be interesting to see how smartly Josh Heupel takes the blow and overshadows it with a counter-move like it never existed.