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After Nico Iamaleava transferred from Tennessee football, he expected a $4 million contract. After head coach Josh Huepel claimed that he's not bigger than the program, Iamaleava is on the open market.
ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel joined the Pat McAfee Show and discussed what he's been hearing about his market.
“This is what I have distilled from talking with sources on all sides,” Thamel said. “What is certain about Nico’s market is he will not get what he’s asking.
“He will not get the $4 million-ish dollars that was desired from Tennessee, which would be top of the market in this college football 2025 season, that is not going to happen.”
Although he sought out $4 million, there was no reason for Tennessee football to negotiate. While he had a promising redshirt freshman season, he wasn't a top SEC quarterback.
Guys like Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe were far superior to Iamaleava this past season. Still, expecting $4 million would've reset the market among transfer portal. They didn't think it was worth it, and the market seems to think so as well.
Tennessee football isn't worried about Nico Iamaleava
Although Iamaleava was a high recruit coming into Knoxville, he backed it up. The potential is there, and he had some improvements from year one to two.
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However, expected an increase of $2 million might've been his downfall. Thamel elborated more specifically on that point, and how it could cost him in the long-run.
“What’s expected is he’s going to get less than what he was making, which was somewhere in the low to mid $2 million dollar range,” Thamel said. “Which was part of his initial historic deal that got him to Tennessee. What’s happening right now is his market is dropping right now. It’s bottoming out.
“I’m not going to be hyperbolic and say he has nowhere to go or he’s not going to end up anywhere because he’s a very good player and he is better than, I would think, a majority of college quarterbacks. So there will be someone who takes Nico.”
Someone will take him for sure, and UCLA football was rumored to take Iamaleava. However, they are holding their ground and not wanting to give him the $4 million that he is seeking.
At the end of the day, this could've been avoided, but it was bound to happen to one quarterback or one star player at some point. It goes to show that the NCAA needs to take some more ownership in fixing the transfer portal and NIL.
Ultimately, it is to make it manageable for players and universities.
