'Change and chaos' could be next for college sports after NIL contract holdout

Nico Iamaleava was Tennessee's star QB last season. He's already left in search of a better NIL deal in what some believe could become a trend in college football.

The University of Tennessee’s annual spring football game last week was supposed to be a preview of what to expect on the field.

The Volunteers were coming off a berth in last season’s College Football Playoff and returned the quarterback who led them there: Nico Iamaleava.

By kickoff, however, Iamaleava wasn’t welcome on the team anymore. And the reason why could be a preview of what is to come across major college sports.

According to multiple reports, Iamaleava was attempting to renegotiate the roughly $2 million he received annually in name, image and likeness payments to around $4 million when news of the discussions erupted into public view. And when Iamaleava did not show up for practice last Friday — a tactic described by some as a holdout — Volunteers coach Josh Heupel said he viewed the relationship as irreparably severed.

“No one is bigger than the ‘Power T,’” Heupel said, referencing the school’s logo.