Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava’s price tag in the transfer portal will be among the top salaries handed out in college football. North Carolina's Bill Belichick and GM Michael Lombardi are being urged to pony up for it because of the state of his quarterback room heading into his first season coaching the Tar Heels.
CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno believes Iamaleava can be a career-defining get for Belichick in “Chapel Bill.”
“UNC could be a wild card team for Iamaleava. UNC's Week 1 starter from last season, Max Johnson, is coming off a significant leg injury. He is one of three quarterbacks listed on UNC's roster, alongside freshman Bryce Baker and Purdue transfer Ryan Browne. The Tar Heels don't have a clear starter heading into Week 1,” Salerno wrote.
“Iamaleava would change that for first-year coach Bill Belichick.
“Adding Iamaleava would be a significant investment, but it could be worth the swing. It's the kind of addition that could define Belichick's college tenure.”
As Rivals’ Adam Gorney suggested, Iamaleava’s NIL figure could come close to Carson Beck’s $4 million price tag at Miami.
“If Beck is worth $4 million and Mateer is worth $3 million to transfer then the market for Nico Iamaleava will be much bigger than $2 million he was getting at Tennessee,” Gorney wrote.
“Tons of recent No. 1 QBs transferred. Nico put up similar stats to Caleb Williams at OU.
“He will be fine.”
Belichick and Co. have yet to make a headline splash in the transfer portal that’d inflate the Tar Heels’ 2025 expectations like when Deion Sanders brought over Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, and flipped Cormani McClain and Omarion Miller, before Colorado’s 2023 season.
Adding Iamaleava would change that. It’s unclear if Belichick is ready to deal with one of the sport’s most polarizing figures under center after having that with Tom Brady for two decades, though.