Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has found a home but at a pretty hefty price. While there is certainly no winner in the former Vol quarterback’s decision to move from Knoxville to Los Angeles, Iamaleava looks like his situation just got significantly worse.
Iamaleava, who has reportedly agreed to transfer to UCLA, will move to a school that is not expected to even make a bowl game in 2025, has a new, unproven offensive coordinator and returns few starters, especially on offense.
The Bruins are largely relying on transfer players to produce any post-season play this season. Including Iamaleava, UCLA will feature 20 transfers that will be expected to contribute to a team that finished just 5-7 last season.
Oh, and Iamaleava will make less money, much less money. His new NIL deal at UCLA will be approximately $500,000 less than he made at Tennessee. However, it’s worse than that. Per various income calculators, Iamaleava would have to make almost double what he was making in Knoxville to enjoy the same lifestyle in Los Angeles. Iamaleava won’t be homeless, but he won’t be living in a Malibu mansion either.
Aside from the much higher cost of living in Los Angeles compared to Knoxville, advertisers in southern California aren’t going to clamour to pay Iamaleava to represent their brands nearly as quickly as Tennessee’s businesses did during his tenure. Why? There’s just too much competition.
Iamaleava was never an active participant in NIL events during his Vol tenure. He didn’t show up to public functions that would have only increased his NIL value. Iamaleava didn’t have to demand more money like he did last week; he just had to play the marketing game while at UT. He never did.
Maybe Iamaleava has learned his lesson. He may be willing to be more proactive in the Los Angeles community, but that doesn’t matter. As a Bruin in Southern California, Iamaleava carries about the same marketing value as a backup for the Knoxville Ice Bears in East Tennessee.
UCLA is at best sixth on the sports marketing food chain in Los Angeles. Businesses in that area would much rather invest in and be associated with the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers or even the USC Trojans, who at least have a pulse, unlike the Bruins.
Iamaleava could always make more money than promised in Knoxville as businesses saw value in being associated with him. However, he’s likely found his ceiling in Los Angeles unless he becomes a college football superstar, which doesn’t seem likely considering he’ll be playing with such a bereft roster and an unproven coaching staff.
