Cade McNamara to return to Iowa for 2024, per CEO of Swarm Collective

When he transferred to Iowa from Michigan, Cade McNamara was viewed as the quarterback who could take the Hawkeyes offense to the next level. A leg injury during the offseason impacted his preparation, and he suffered a season-ending injury last week against Michigan State — cutting his year short.

However, according to the CEO of Iowa’s NIL Collective, McNamara’s time in Iowa City isn’t over yet.

Brad Heinrichs joined The Morning Drive on KXnO radio on Tuesday and confirmed McNamara will be back with Iowa next season. He was asked if the Swarm Collective received some kind of “insurance policy” in case of an injury, but said that’s “not the case,” per NCAA rules. McNamara will carry out his deal, and is also set to come back next year.

“These NIL deals cannot be, by rule, performance-based,” Heinrichs said. “So you’re not really insuring against anything. Cade’s going to fulfill his end of the bargain on his NIL deal and get paid handsomely. I can tell you, in talking with him and his father, he’s coming back next year. We’re gonna be loaded to bear next fall with Cade McNamara — a healthy Cade McNamara — under center.”

McNamara dealt with a leg injury during camp, but found his way back onto the field for game action. But seven minutes into last week’s game against Michigan State, he went down with a knee issue and left the field on the cart. After the game, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said he wasn’t ready to put a timeline on McNamara’s return, but pointed out it didn’t look good initially.

“I don’t want to speculate, but it always is concerning, a guy has to get helped off the field,” Ferentz said. “Considering what he’s been through, it’s really tough. You feel bad for any player that gets injured but in his case, it’s rough.”

McNamara entered Saturday’s contest with 459 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, completing just 50.6% of his pass attempts. Now, it’ll be Deacon Hill’s show at quarterback after he transferred in from Wisconsin.

Because Hill got some reps while McNamara was down during camp, Ferentz said he’ll be ready to step up.

“Deacon, unfortunately, has gotten more practice. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but he’s practiced more than a normal No. 2 guy would because of Cade’s first issue,” Ferentz said. “I think that benefited him a little bit tonight. But it’s one thing to practice. It’s another thing to step in there when the game is on the line which it was.”