Shame this is where the NIL is going right now. Controls are badly needed.
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Per sources to xxxxxx and confirmed by Will West of The Sports Animal, Iamaleava’s family, not Nico, lobbied for more money following the season than they had previously been promised when he was recruited from California in the Vols’ 2023 class. In the NIL era, contracts are about as helpful as a missed pass block on the field. Sure, they’re there, but they’re just a whiff of what could have been.
One has to wonder if the Vols should have let Iamaleava walk and spent the massive amount of money he’s costing Tennessee on other positions, either to keep current players, like receiver Mike Matthews, who also reportedly asked for a raise, to keep current Vols in their current roles or go get transfers to bolster the roster.
Would you rather have a handful of good players or a pretty good quarterback? That was the quandary, especially since the Vols are currently trying to bring NIL spending in-house and, hopefully, stick to some sort of NIL budget. That has been a challenge.
Per sources, Iamaleava’s family was the driving force behind the forced raise, and he felt caught in the middle. There is absolutely no indication that Iamaleava is anything but a perfect teammate, but agents and parents do what agents and parent do. They look out for their own, even if it is to a fault.
