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Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee actively negotiating contract, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Nico Iamaleava is reportedly negotiating with Tennessee ahead of the 2025 season.
Pete Nakos of On3 reported the news on Thursday, adding that it’s not clear whether negotiations will impact Iamaleava potentially entering the transfer portal.
Iamaleava made headlines back in March 2022 before arriving at Tennessee. It was reported that he signed an NIL deal to pay him more than $8 million by the end of his junior year. Iamaleava is entering his junior season with the Vols in 2025.
The $8 million deal stunned the college football world at the time because it was based off of expectations for Iamaleava while he was still a prospect. As a recruit out of Downey (California) Warren High School, Iamaleava was rated 5-stars, the No. 2 quarterback (behind Arch Manning) and No. 3 player overall in the Class of 2023 on the 247Sports Composite.
The 2024 season was Iamaleava’s second at Tennessee and first as the starting quarterback. He led the Volunteers to a 10-3 season highlighted by their first College Football Playoff appearance.
In 2024, Iamaleava completed 63.8% of his passes (213-of-334) for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He also picked up 3 rushing scores.
Tennessee’s Orange & White spring game is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. The spring transfer portal window for undergraduate entry opens on Wednesday.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
