Paul Finebaum predicts which teams could be in play for Nico Iamaleava, highlights potential 'buyer's beware'

The marriage between Tennessee and quarterback Nico Iamaleava came to an end on Saturday, after it deteriorated over the past week. Now, Paul Finebaum is trying to figure out where the former five-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, will end up playing next.

According to Finebaum, teams on the West Coast would make the most sense for the 20-year old. He’s theorizing Oregon and USC will be in the mix, but there will be some trepidation due to how Iamaleava’s situation was handled in Knoxville.

“He grew up in California, so you have to look to that direction,” Finebaum stated, via SportsCenter “One interesting part of this is he can’t go anywhere within the SEC. There is a new clause — in the spring portal, you can’t go within the SEC. Now, you can do that in the portal that ends after the season. So I would have to guess the West Coast.

“Obviously, there’s plenty of places out there — Oregon, USC, natural places. But I wonder, how excited our school is going to be to deal with his representatives? And I say his representatives — his father is involved. He’s got agents involved. This is a very nasty situation. It has left a stench across college football. So, I would say buyer beware.”

Evidently, there’s a ton of moving parts pertaining to Iamaleava’s situation. The ball started to roll when On3 insider Pete Nakos reported Iamaleava and Tennessee were in active negotiations on a new NIL deal ahead of the coming season. Nakos suggested Iamaleava was seeking to amend the original multi-million dollar NIL deal he received.

According to Nakos, Iamaleava’s current contract is somewhere between $2.2 to $2.5 million. In the time since he agreed to his deal, transfers like Miami’s Carson Beck and Duke’s Darian Mensah have reportedly both signed contracts this offseason worth more than $3 million annually. 

Now, Nico Iamaleava will be moving on, as Tennessee and their quarterback are divorcing. Whether it’s Oregon, USC or a different team that adds him to their roster remains to be seen, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward.

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

— On3’s Alex Byington contributed to this article.