If you’re looking for a winner in the Tennessee-Nico Iamaleava divorce, good luck. Neither party fared very well. However, the Vols deserve the slight edge.
Tennessee’s football team will go on to be at least somewhat successful this season considering the Vols’ favorable schedule. They’ll still be significant underdogs to Georgia and, perhaps Alabama, but they still stand a great chance to win 10 games and make the College Football Playoffs. But what if not?
UT coach Josh Heupel has come out of the ordeal looking fantastic. He didn’t just stand up to his former quarterback; he also stood up against the NIL monster that has plagued college football. Iamaleava and, more appropriately, his family comes away from the ordeal looking self-centered and greedy.
Iamaleava may get a raise by switching schools. However, I doubt it will be much. He was making over $2-million per season at Tennessee. Time will determine what he receives from another school, but I don’t see a massive increase for a couple of reasons.
First, Iamaleava is now tarnished. There will be concerns about his ability to be a team-oriented player after his sudden departure from Tennessee. If Iamaleava is able to quiet those concerns, there will be concerns about his ability to have an impact this season. Few have transferred during the spring portal and had a major impact at another school. Why? There’s just too much to learn in a short period of time.
The repercussions for Tennessee aren’t completely clear. We do know that the Vols lost a solid starting quarterback with plenty of talent and game experience. Was Iamaleava as good as advertised? Probably not, but he was still pretty good.
Heupel’s handling of the matter probably gives him a pass for 2025, so there won’t be any hot seat talk heading into 2026 no matter what the Vols do this season – within reason. Tennessee could go 7-5 and still maintain a positive, optimistic fan base. However, the effects of this divorce may not be felt fully for years.
Heupel has also improved his reputation with Tennessee’s fan base. His standing in recruiting circles is another matter. Opposing recruiters are going to use the entire saga against the Vols. Opposing coaches will bring this incident up as reason not to play for Heupel. “Apparently, they don’t know how to handle their NIL business,” will be the refrain. True or not, that will be used against Heupel and the Vols.
Divorces don’t always have winners. Sometimes both parties lose. That was certainly the case with Iamaleava and the Vols.
