Nico Iamaleava negotiations: Insider reveals final communication with Tennessee staff before missing practice

Tennessee fans might as well be playing “Where in the world is Nico Iamaleava?” The Volunteers redshirt sophomore quarterback is missing in action after skipping out on Friday’s Spring practice amid ongoing NIL negotiations.

And, at least according to ESPN insider Chris Low, it appears there aren’t many on the Tennessee campus that know exactly where Iamaleava is at the moment. Low revealed the last contact Tennessee officials have had with their former five-star quarterback was a Thursday night “quarterbacks dinner” at the house of Vols offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle in Knoxville.

“From the best I can tell, the quarterbacks coach and OC Joey Halzle met at his house and they had dinner. Nico was there. After that, there was not really any contact with him from anybody that I’ve talked to,” Low told ESPN colleague Paul Finebaum to begin The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday afternoon. “And then he didn’t show up for practice this morning. Tennessee practices in the morning. It was a surprise to his coaches, to his teammates, nobody heard he wasn’t coming. He just didn’t show up. And I don’t know that they’ve talked to him (since), unless something’s happened in the last hour or so.

“And tomorrow is the Spring game, if you want to add more drama to it. You’ve got fans coming on campus, you’ve got the Spring game, there’s going to be media opportunities after the game. I think his parents or at least his father was certainly planning on coming to the Spring game,” Low continued. “So I don’t know where any of that stands right now. Nor do I think anybody at Tennessee necessarily knows what’s going on right now. It’s a bizarre situation, but I can’t emphasize it enough, I don’t think this is the last of these types of things we’re going to see around college football the next year or two.”

New information emerges on Iamaleava’s absence from practice

One day after On3 insider Pete Nakos broke the news Iamaleava’s representatives and Tennessee officials were in active negotiations on a new NIL deal ahead of the 2025 college football season, Iamaleava was noticeably absent from the Volunteers’ last practice before Saturday’s Spring game, according to VolQuest’s Austin Price. Price first posted about Iamaleava’s surprise absence on the site’s message board “The General’s Quarters.”

Later Friday afternoon, Low revealed Iamaleava’s representation originally sought to increase the quarterback’s NIL deal to the “$4 million range” just before the end of the Winter transfer portal window, but Volunteers officials “weren’t going to blink.” That news adds an interesting new angle to the latest Iamaleava’s power play, especially with the Spring portal window opening next week.

The ongoing negotiations appear to be an attempt to increase Iamaleava’s current NIL deal with the program, reportedly in the $2.2-2.5 million range according to Nakos, which would already be an improvement on the initial three-year deal Iamaleava reportedly signed in March 2022. At the time, Iamaleava’s deal was considered one of the first significant NIL contracts issued. But the market has since adjusted significantly — especially at the quarterback position.

Following the VolQuest report Friday morning, Low revealed “growing frustration among the (Tennessee) administration and players” regarding the Iamaleava situation, which only seemed to escalate after Friday’s absence. Low also said Iamaleava’s representation were initially adamant that there was “no NIL renegotiation going on,” a rebuke of Nakos’ original reporting that has since been confirmed.

Despite the Friday morning disappearing act, sources told Nakos that Iamaleava “is happy at Tennessee and has a strong relationship with head coach Josh Heupel.”

In his first season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback, Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 358 yards and three more scores on the ground. Iamaleava started every game for the Volunteers in 2024, helping guide Tennessee (10-3) to its first College Football Playoff berth last season.