I have read where these agents are collecting up to 20% on the deals, typical fee for NBA is 2-4%; so its not just the players as it's the Agents as well.

boognish_bear said:

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If Beck is worth $4 million and Mateer is worth $3 million to transfer then the market for Nico Iamaleava will be much bigger than $2 million he was getting at Tennessee.

Tons of recent No. 1 QBs transferred. Nico put up similar stats to Caleb Williams at OU.

He will be fine.

— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) April 12, 2025

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Funny, major weakness he had was the inability to see the field.

hoist ..........

- el KKM

So proud of Tennessee for doing this. I hope this creates a wave amongst schools to stop this garbage. the holdouts and the ego these kids are getting from all this fast cash is just not healthy. Until this point, they ask for more money and they got it. now, schools are (hopefully) fighting back.

Bear2014 said:

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So proud of Tennessee for doing this. I hope this creates a wave amongst schools to stop this garbage. the holdouts and the ego these kids are getting from all this fast cash is just not healthy. Until this point, they ask for more money and they got it. now, schools are (hopefully) fighting back.

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Unless a school pays what Nico wants.

EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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Bear2014 said:

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So proud of Tennessee for doing this. I hope this creates a wave amongst schools to stop this garbage. the holdouts and the ego these kids are getting from all this fast cash is just not healthy. Until this point, they ask for more money and they got it. now, schools are (hopefully) fighting back.

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Unless a school pays what Nico wants.

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He's at a disadvantage on the negotiating table now because he either has to take what someone will pay or sit out a year. Overplayed his hand now he's got the short straw

br53 said:

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EvilTroyAndAbed said:

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Bear2014 said:

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So proud of Tennessee for doing this. I hope this creates a wave amongst schools to stop this garbage. the holdouts and the ego these kids are getting from all this fast cash is just not healthy. Until this point, they ask for more money and they got it. now, schools are (hopefully) fighting back.

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Unless a school pays what Nico wants.

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He's at a disadvantage on the negotiating table now because he either has to take what someone will pay or sit out a year. Overplayed his hand now he's got the short straw

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Yup. Lots of schools would probably take him as an upgrade over their current starter, they just probably wouldn't be able to pay the $4mil. Or even 2mil.

He almost has to hope a big school has a season ending injury to their qb in spring practice to get what he is asking for

247Sports' @JoshPateCFB says Nico Iamaleava & others threatened to opt out of last season's CFB playoffs unless they were paid more NIL money: 😳

"This stuff was happening last December during the playoffs — with this kid included, but not just this kid. They were trying to get… pic.twitter.com/BixAPogXvU

— College Sports Only 🏈 🏀 ⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) April 14, 2025

This is wild… imagine being a coach trying to prep for a CFP game while dealing with players' agents holding out for extra cash.

Yuck

latest rumor is that UNC, UCLA and tulane are front-runners for him. He wont be getting 4 mil from either of those schools. it would be HILARIOUS to see him go to Tulane.

BluesBear said:

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I have read where these agents are collecting up to 20% on the deals, typical fee for NBA is 2-4%; so its not just the players as it's the Agents as well.

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Somewhat misleading.

Pro agents have two buckets. The fee % on contract with team is low. The fee % on outside sponsors/advertising/etc. is high [15% on established superstars to 33% on lesser known rookies with most players slotting in at 20-25%]. While NIL is effectively part of the first bucket, the legality is that it is part of the second bucket.

That said, college agents constantly shopping their players even after signing a deal is well established.

Nico Iamaleava going from making $2.5m on an SEC roster…

To talking to Tulane and UCLA is exactly what the market needed.

Someone needed to be made a humbled example in this greedy market.

Hate it for him, sounds like it’s a dad issue. But it had to happen.

— Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA) April 14, 2025

I believe I remember reading a while back that UNC promised Bill deep pockets for NIL. That was part of the reason he accepted.

24/7 Sports just projected Tennessee transfer QB Nico Iamaleava to land with Bill Belichick and UNC.

#1 player in the portal.

This could get interesting. Buckle up.

(📸: @jerseyxswap) pic.twitter.com/MoBsa6LfVS

— Travon Miles (@TrayABC11) April 14, 2025

INTEL: Bill Belichick will be a 'known buyer' in the quarterback market this spring, @PeteNakos_ reports💰

"(Iamaleava's) asking price of $4 million could be too much for North Carolina."https://t.co/60ckCH4dbK https://t.co/5OJAkHOZyX pic.twitter.com/5n6Jt337A7

— On3 (@On3sports) April 14, 2025

Bro aint going to UNC. he'll end up at some G5 school once he and his greedy family realize they royally screwed up. Hope he enjoys Tulane

Belichick is notorious for not dealing with headaches. I remember when a linebacker tried asking for more money and he traded him to Cleveland for like a 5th round pick to make a point.

It seems so weird trying to reconcile between the fight over money stories like this now and then listening to my dad tell me about how when his best friend was on the football team but didn't have a car my dad drove him to Baylor Stadium (name at that time) for practice because the NCAA prohibited the school from transporting the players from the dorms to the stadium 5 miles away.

Or couch surfing Silas Nacita

boognish_bear said:

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Or couch surfing Silas Nacita

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He could have gotten a nice little NIL deal for a new apartment downtown or whatever

Nothing is sacred 😔 https://t.co/nCxrtFnsb0

— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) April 15, 2025

The portal opens officially this week so I expect it to get worse as official announcements are made.

I'm sure there a bunch of guys who have been talking to schools already but it has been kept hidden.

Side note- does anyone know why this portal window isn't later in May? Seems like April isn't the best time.

Especially for the "student athlete" sham they are still trying to push. This window and the basketball one don't make sense being in the middle of a semester.

Pride goeth before the fall?

Hope all the teams collectively stand strong on him. I think other players will take notice if he gets frozen out.

Nico Iamaleava’s Recruitment in the Transfer Portal, via @On3sports:

• Initial Leaders are UCLA, UNC, and Tulane

• UNC is “out of the mix”, shift focus to other transfer QB ❌

• Report says that schools are waiting for his NIL demands to DROP

• Tulane backs out ❌

Wow. pic.twitter.com/DyQ3huYiZF

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) April 15, 2025

His stunt may effectively cost him $1.5 mil in lost money....and the prestige and viewership of playing on the SEC stage.

NEW: Multiple schools are waiting to see if Tennessee transfer QB Nico Iamaleava’s NIL demands drop in the coming days, @PeteNakos_ reports📉

Multiple programs are ready to become contenders if he is open to a deal closer to $1M.https://t.co/OKjW9CvcyQ pic.twitter.com/GsP6iz65v3

— On3 (@On3sports) April 15, 2025

I wish I could royally overplay my hand and still come away with seven figures on top of a free college degree.

bro is going to end up at blinn college, isnt he?!

Sounds like maybe he found a dance partner

Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is in the transfer portal this morning with a "do not contact" tag.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) April 16, 2025

boognish_bear said:

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Sounds like maybe he found a dance partner

Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is in the transfer portal this morning with a "do not contact" tag.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) April 16, 2025

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Aggies?

Who is desperate enough to pay the most hated QB in college football? This will be an embarrassing stain on his future program if they pay him 4mm.

Karab said:

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boognish_bear said:

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That's desperately needed… but hard to picture a governing body taking control anytime soon.

Maybe if the P2 splits they can create some sensible rules for themselves.

NIL and the XFR portal did not ruin College Football...The pathetic and inept NCAA not enforcing rules is threatening to ruin College Football...So, we need a governing body to step in and enforce mutually agreed upon rules...it is really that simple

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) April 12, 2025

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Talking heads like this always want to blame someone else other than the people with the money.

The NCAA was castrated by the schools, courts, and media for years. And they wonder why the NCAA no longer puts their foot down on an issue. They can't or else face more litigation.

The NCAA is the schools. If they wanted to fix it, they would. But the schools prefer that the rich get richer more than fair competition.

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That's what I was thinking as well.

NCAA was basically neutered. But they also did a pretty crappy job before. But at least there were a few sensible rules, even though they were often not evenly executed.

Best available QB for Tennessee?

Rumor is they are reaching out to player agents for P4 QB's and are willing to pay 4mil.

If you were a really good QB with little or no chance of going to the NFL, would that amount of money shake your loyalty? Would you be an idiot if it didn't?

That will be funny if Tennessee ends up paying the new guy the amount Nico was looking for

If you're a better-than-average player who isn't really on the radar of a "name" school, then you might take the "I'm going wherever I get paid" route. You'll likely find a few schools that are willing to rent you for a season or two.

For the true difference makers, their eyes are squarely on the NFL. They're looking for a top tier program with winning coaches, and teammates that will help them showcase their skills. They'll likely find a good fit with 3 or 4 schools. In those cases, a modestly improved NIL deal might help them decide on one or the other.

Nico is going to be an object lesson over what NIL is not.

This isn't an age of free agency where a player sits out until his contract demands are met. In addition to grades, work ethic, and athletic ability, NIL disbursement is something else a coach has to manage. Right now, coaches fear a team full of kids all angry at each other over their NIL deals. They rightly understand the damage that would do, and don't want that type in their program if they can help it.

UTenn was providing a fair deal. They're well heeled enough that they're able to compete with the winners for the top players, obviously. Of course, they're also confident that an unhappy player can be replaced before he creates an unhappy team. Nico is going to find that any team able to meet his self-declared worth is similarly situated that they won't need to.

Nico Iamaleava Has 'Zero Market' According to Power 4 General Managers https://t.co/zyUG6hrT0r pic.twitter.com/mL8qzkb1oA

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 16, 2025

boognish_bear said:

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Nico Iamaleava Has 'Zero Market' According to Power 4 General Managers https://t.co/zyUG6hrT0r pic.twitter.com/mL8qzkb1oA

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 16, 2025

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There's something about football culture that he violated. (Especially Old-School Guys like his coach.) I'm reading that he was a "me," not "us" guy.

This is the guy you want to play with.



Marshall Herd QB Byron Leftwich carried down the field

We have this in Sawyer.

Nico was always about him and never about the team. Its the new Tennessee slogan- "no one is bigger than the Power T." And Nico and his family believed he was. he messed around and found out the truth. Bro is going to Texas State, i bet