Nico Iamaleava fumbled the bag.
Regardless of whose fault it is, that much is clear. The ex-Tennessee quarterback could've made $2.5 million in NIL deals for the 2025 season.
Instead, having attempted to get a $4 million deal from the Volunteers but not succeeding, Iamaleava is now looking at a much lower payday.
On3 has done a lot of reporting on this matter in the past couple of days. Their insider Ari Wasserman tweeted, "I don’t think it’s even possible Nico can make what he was making at Tennessee at this point."
Then on Tuesday, they published a story detailing that other teams will line up to recruit Iamaleava — if he will accept a deal more in the $1 million range.
That's a seven-figure bag seemingly out the window for Iamaleava.
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There could still be a team out there that decides they really want him that ponies up another half a million or something.
But as Wasserman said, that already-in-hand Tennessee payday seems a thing of the past.
It's a bit of a sad situation for Iamaleava, who may have been getting bad advice. It's also an odd place for college football to be in.
In addition to all the financial dealings, Iamaleava will be under a huge microscope wherever he winds up. There was the belief he deserved more money. He'll have to prove that to the college football world at large on the field.
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