Tennessee’s much ballyhooed quarterback that was supposed to lead the Vols to the promised land almost took his talents elsewhere. That would have been bad.

In this day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, Tennessee could have survived without star quarterback Nico Iamaleava by replacing him with another transfer quarterback. However, it wouldn’t have been a good look for the poster boy of NIL to bolt after just one season on the field and two seasons playing on a contract that pays him over $2-million annually.

Per sources to Off The Hook Sports and confirmed by Will West of The Sports Animal, Iamaleava’s family, not Nico, lobbied for more money following the season than they had previously been promised when he was recruited from California in the Vols’ 2023 class. In the NIL era, contracts are about as helpful as a missed pass block on the field. Sure, they’re there, but they’re just a whiff of what could have been.

One has to wonder if the Vols should have let Iamaleava walk and spent the massive amount of money he’s costing Tennessee on other positions, either to keep current players, like receiver Mike Matthews, who also reportedly asked for a raise, to keep current Vols in their current roles or go get transfers to bolster the roster. 

Would you rather have a handful of good players or a pretty good quarterback? That was the quandary, especially since the Vols are currently trying to bring NIL spending in-house and, hopefully, stick to some sort of NIL budget. That has been a challenge.

Per sources, Tennessee is more of the mindset to bring a prospect on campus before they promise him a boatload of cash. That seems reasonable, but other schools aren’t doing the same. Schools, especially with new coaches, are flooding the NIL market to rebuild struggling programs – just like Tennessee did when head coach Josh Heupel was hired before the 2021 season. 

There will always be a program spending too much to rebuild as quickly as possible. That wrecks the market. It only takes one school to spend an outlandish amount of money to throw things out of whack. Iamaleava’s recruitment was part of the impetus of that.

Could the Vols have replaced Iamaleava with a competent or, perhaps, even a a better quarterback? That might not seem as crazy as you think. After all, who would have thought that quarterback Carson Beck would leave Georgia to go to, well, anywhere else? Is there a better college football program than Georgia? If so, not many. Beck is going to Miami in a head-scratching move.

Georgia has won two of the last three national championships and didn’t feel like they had to be held hostage by Beck, who placed money and/or location over playing for championships. Beck has transferred to Miami, so the Bulldogs will go with Gunner Stockton and, probably, will be just fine. Could the Vols have done the same: saving money to spend in other areas as opposed to giving Iamaleava a raise? No doubt.

Iamaleava was ranked seventh in the SEC, oddly enough tied with Beck, in passing efficiency last season during a season in which SEC quarterback play was rather atrocious. Could the Vols have been as good with another quarterback at the helm this season, maybe even one that wasn’t as talented as Iamaleava? The NFL would say absolutely so.

While playing quarterback might be the toughest job in sports, NFL teams don’t place as much value in quarterbacks as you might think. Sure, anyone would drive a Brinks truck to Patrick Mahomes’ house to drop off however much he wanted, but the best way to win in the NFL is with a quarterback on his first contract that doesn’t make much money that can be spent elsewhere. 

Mahomes is also a prime example of a player taking less money and/or a back-loaded contract to better his team. Top-flight college football players don’t seem to be doing the same. While every college football player believes they’ll star in the NFL, there’s also a desire to get paid now if things don’t work out. It’s hard to blame the players for striking while the iron is hot, but at some point schools have to take a stand – like Georgia.

Tennessee could have done the same with Iamaleava as Georgia did with Beck. The Vols probably wouldn’t have gotten a player with as much potential as Iamaleava, but Tennessee probably could have landed a quarterback that could be rated in middle of the pack in the SEC. Surely.

Per sources, Iamaleava’s family was the driving force behind the forced raise, and he felt caught in the middle. There is absolutely no indication that Iamaleava is anything but a perfect teammate, but agents and parents do what agents and parent do. They look out for their own, even if it is to a fault.

Iamaleava’s family demands should have Tennessee and every other school looking at new ways to manage NIL and transfers. Is there not a way to backload a contract to make sure a player stays around long enough to find out where classes or held, if players go to class anymore? The Vols should look into that. So should the NCAA.

I’m all for players being able to move freely from team to team. When it comes to siding with players that make good money and institutions that make insane money, I’ve got the players back every time, but something has to give.

College football coaches are supposed to be recruiting in January, not taking part in contract negotiations with current players. Yes, players should be paid, but they have far too much power now.

Tennessee was in an extra tough spot with Iamaleava, who, per sources, was a bit behind early last season, but is expected to eventually excel given his maturity, approach to the game and, of course, his talent. However, losing Iamaleava wouldn’t have been just losing a player. It would have been losing the very public linchpin in the Vols’ chase for a championship. Prospects would have noticed.

One incoming player would have been fine with that.

Quarterback George MacIntyre would never admit it publicly, but he would have likely been elated if Iamaleava bolted for more cash since he would have effectively become the starter as a true freshman. After all, there isn’t a bevy of top-flight quarterback prospects on the Vols’ roster. That’s the new norm. A solid backup quarterback is a rarity in the NIL era because a good quarterback who isn’t playing will just transfer to a school that needs a fresh signal caller.

As for  MacIntyre, the Vol have some leverage over him. The prospect from Brentwood Academy has been a lifelong Tennessee fan. It seems doubtful he’d jump ship for a little more cash. The Vols would have also eliminated a distraction had they let Iamaleava leave. Per sources, the Iamaleava family wasn’t real happy with the way their son was used last season.

Iamaleava’s family thought Tennessee should have thrown the ball more with their son at the helm. Tennessee’s coaches disagreed, which was most evident when the Vols went to their 12-personnel offensive grouping, which consists of two tight ends and two receivers instead of one tight end and three receivers, which Tennessee seemingly mastered in its offensive explosion in 2022.

In all fairness, Iamaleava isn’t getting what he signed up for. That’s either his fault or Tennessee’s coaches. I’ll let them work that out. However, Iamaleava was probably closer to leaving Tennessee than you think. That would have been bad for the Vols.