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Nico Iamaleava skipped multiple February workouts at Tennessee due to NIL issue, per report
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More details regarding Nico Iamaleava’s exit from Tennessee are beginning to come to light.
On Wednesday morning, ESPN published a wide-ranging story detailing Iamaleava’s departure from Knoxville. The story, authored by Chris Low, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg, includes several details that haven’t been previously reported.
According to ESPN, Iamaleava skipped multiple practices — at the advice of his attorney — back in February due to what his camp claimed was a “payment issue” with NIL collective Spyre Sports Group.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
Multiple sources at Tennessee told ESPN that Iamaleava missed two offseason workouts in February and that his father told Tennessee coaches that Iamaleava’s attorney advised him to skip workouts until he worked things out with Spyre. Iamaleava’s camp contends the absence was over a payment issue with Spyre. A Spyre representative told ESPN that there were no missed payments. Nic Iamaleava could not be reached for comment. The quarterback returned to workouts the next week, but his NIL deal remained unchanged.
Those missed workouts contributed to the building animosity between both Tennessee and Iamaleava’s camp. Per ESPN, Iamaleava also reportedly considered entering the transfer portal back in December as he looked for an increased NIL package for the 2025 season.
Iamaleava ultimately decided to remain in Knoxville until the spring, but the fix proved to only be temporary. The former Vol later committed to UCLA and Tennessee quickly responded by adding Joey Aguilar via the portal to replace him.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
