The transfer portal has officially opened, and former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava jumped in after leaving the Vols over a dispute about NIL pay.
Iamaleava has a “do not contact” designation to his portal entry. That usually indicates the player already knows where he is going, or that his representatives want to initiate communication with a select number of schools.
The big question is which school will get Iamaleava. The next question is how much money could Iamaleava get.
At Tennessee, Iamaleava sought a renegotiation to his NIL deal, which reportedly paid him more than $2 million per year. ESPN’s Chris Low, citing sources, reported that Iamaleava’s representatives wanted his NIL pay increased to $4 million per year, using the possibility of him entering the portal as leverage.
But according to numerous reports, Southern Cal, North Carolina, Tulane and others have backed off their interest in Iamaleava. Now that the portal is open, some quarterback dominoes could reset the table.
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The transfer portal will be open April 16-25.
Nico Iamaleava stats at Tennessee
Iamaleava, a native of Long Beach, California, will be a redshirt sophomore in the 2025 season.
Last season, he passed for 2,616 yards, 19 TDs and five interceptions en route to the Vols posting a 10-3 record and making the College Football Playoff.
Iamaleava, a former five-star recruit, took a redshirt in 2023 and started in 2024. He has played 18 games with 14 starts for the Vols.
He has completed 241 of 379 passes for 2,930 yards, 21 touchdowns and five interceptions in his UT career. And he has rushed for 435 yards and six TDs, although three of those scores were in his first start as the Citrus Bowl MVP following the 2023 season.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email[email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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