On Sept. 25, the college football world was unexpectedly rocked when former UNLV Rebels quarterback Matthew Sluka announced he was using his redshirt season after just three games.
According to Sluka’s camp, the university failed to uphold financial promises made to him after his transfer from FCS program Holy Cross. The surprising news went national, raising serious questions about how name, image and likeness deals were going to affect college sports moving forward. With contract negotiations and the transfer portal favoring teams with larger NIL budgets, some feared that the lines between college and professional sports would become blurred.
Those in that camp received further validation to their thinking of Friday.
NIL holdouts have now hit a more prominent football program.
On Friday, it was confirmed that University of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava held out of the school’s spring practice. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the holdout was due to ongoing contract negotiations between Iamaleava and the program.
Sources: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava did not attend Tennessee spring practice today. He’s been in conversations with Tennessee about a new contract. The no-show of practice came as a surprise. pic.twitter.com/VXsXTPDZpu
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 11, 2025
With the spring transfer window opening on April 16, there is a possibility that Iamaleava decides to enter in the portal if a deal cannot be reached.
The situation is the latest instance of NIL completely shifting the priorities of college athletes. Carson Beck and Darian Mensah, two quarterbacks who transferred programs back in December, received $4 million payouts from Miami and Duke, respectively. Unsurprisingly, Iamaleava has some level of interest in receiving a similar deal, whether it be with Tennessee or somewhere else.
Iamaleava’s holdout drew some similarities to Sluka’s, except now on a much larger scale.
Whereas Sluka wanted to receive the money he was reportedly promised, the issue has now evolved into Iamaleava wanting more money than initially agreed to. With two high-profile instances of players holding out due to NIL commitments, it is reasonable to worry that this will become a new negotiation tactic. With a major program such as Tennessee now affected, Sluka’s philosophy has now reached the highest levels of college football.
Sluka’s holdout is no longer a one-time thing, and UNLV may have been patient zero of a much larger issue facing college sports.
UPDATE: On Saturday, Thamel reported that Tennessee is moving on from Iamaleava, with Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel informing the team of the decision.
Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision. pic.twitter.com/BsdhJMDXiz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2025
