Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava did not attend spring practice Friday morning, according to multiple sources, turning this entire ordeal with the Vols quarterback and the school into a massive frenzy over college football.
The absence from practice comes a day after On3 reported that Tennessee and Iamaleava were in ongoing negotiations regarding a new deal for the quarterback. If you recall, Nico signed an $8 million contract right out of high school, which would pay him around $2.4 million for the upcoming season.
Update: Tennessee spent Friday trying to make contact with Nico Iamaleava, but has had no success so far. The situation remains current as Tennessee prepares for its spring game on Saturday. It got to a point Friday where the football program was concerned about Iamaleava’s safety, as the quarterback was not responding to messages from teammates, as well as school officials.
But Tennessee obviously isn’t going to throw anyone under the bus, considering this whole situation will set a precedent for the future of the football program. At this point, there is no reason for Nico to report to the facility on Saturday for the spring game, given that the lack of communication was seen as a sign of disrespect. Not only to the coaches, but also to his teammates.
“What happened on April 11, 2025”
There have been conversations in recent months and days about a potential increase in Nico’s NIL deal, but according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, the Vols were not going to be delayed and forced into a new deal. But they were willing to discuss it, because we’ve seen the market evolve over the last few years.
If you look around the sport, the money continues to rise. This past offseason, it was reported that former Tulane QB Darian Mensah received a two-year contract from Duke that would pay him $4 million per year. And the list could go on. From Bryce Underwood to Carson Beck, it’s clear that schools are willing to pay more for players they believe are worth the money.
In speaking with an agent Friday night, there were rumors that Nico’s team was trying to leverage potential offers from other schools to try to make a move on Tennessee.
“It’s not like Nico’s team was trying to keep things really quiet by gauging interest from a few schools. If anything, they did the young kid no favors in this situation, the agent told OutKick. “Do you really think he (Nico) would ghost his coach, who he has a good relationship with, just through his own thinking? There are certain ways to handle these types of situations in our company.
“No matter where he plays football next season, I can promise you that one of the first things NFL teams will ask when he enters the draft is what happened on April 11, 2025.”
That’s when things started to change, as the quarterback’s representatives sought a restructured deal that would see Nico’s annual price increase. But now there is a very contentious situation within the Tennessee football complex, which obviously escalated when the quarterback failed to show up for a walk-through-style practice Friday, just a day before the Vols’ spring game.
This news came as a surprise to people inside the Tennessee football building, as they were expecting their quarterback to show up for morning practice.
As for “contract negotiations,” Nico’s father, Nic, took to social media Thursday night to call out a reporter, while acting like nothing was happening regarding contract negotiations and the quarterback. So while Nico’s manager and his father released a statement on social media, you now have a volcano about to erupt on the Tennessee campus.
Matches certainly played off the field with Nico Iamaleava
Speaking with multiple sources over the past 24 hours, there are definitely games being played behind the scenes. There has been a sense of frustration within the team, even though Nico Iamaleava has had a solid spring so far. But when internal affairs come to light, things can change very quickly.
On the Tennessee side, if you give in to one player’s demands, you open the door for several others to come into the office and demand more money. Like it or not, it is now a professional sport. But there are ways to handle this type of thing in the NFL, NBA, or even MLB, and not showing up while you’re getting paid isn’t the smartest strategy.
On the other hand, if Nico’s team felt like certain agreements weren’t being kept, then taking a drastic step like this was something they felt was necessary at the moment. There are obviously two sides to every story, and I imagine the Iamaleava family will talk about some issues in the future, wherever that may be. Even if it’s in Knoxville.
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 12: Nico Iamaleava #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers plays against the Florida Gators during their game at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Now, Josh Heupel has a very important decision to make regarding the future of his football program. Would you allow something like this to happen, even if he loves his quarterback? It’s a business now and players need to be held accountable. In the same way that schools must be held in check if they try to gain the upper hand on a player.
This is why the situation seems difficult to overcome. As I wrote on Thursday, once news of a contract negotiation was revealed, Nico Iamaleava would have to answer questions about this situation, the first coming Saturday afternoon. Tennessee was not going to shy away from the situation and prevent the starting quarterback from speaking with the media, to protect him from questions.
So it was either stick with the program, handle your stuff behind the scenes, or pick up the bag from another school and move on.
Right now, Tennessee is the hottest topic in college football, for all the wrong reasons.
