Following Tennessee exit, Nico Iamaleava reportedly enters the transfer portal with do not contact tag

Nico Iamaleava has been the talk of the town this week after reports suggested that the Tennessee quarterback was demanding $8 million in NIL money to remain with the program for the 2025 season. On Wednesday, things escalated even further when it was reported that Iamaleava entered the transfer portal with a do not contact tag.

On3's Pete Nakos confirmed Iamaleava's decision to enter the transfer portal and leave Tennessee.

The do not contact tag implies that the QB does not want to be contacted by other schools unless he reaches out or initiates the contact first. This suggests that Iamaleava likely has a planned destination in mind. However, it's still unclear where he will play his football next season.

Iamaleava's decision to enter the transfer portal stemmed from the fact that he could not agree on a NIL deal with Tennessee. He also missed practice on Friday and didn't communicate with the team's staff. Vols coach Josh Heupel then made the decision to move on from the signal-caller.

“As we’re moving forward from today, this program is ready to go win next fall,” Heupel said on Friday (per On3). “And as a program since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QB’s done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.”

Some have suggested that since Iamaleava has a do not contact tag, he could be on his way to UCLA.

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Nico Iamaleava led Tennessee to a historic College Football Playoff appearance last season

Nico Iamaleava in action for Tennessee last season - Source: Imagn

Nico Iamaleava led Tennessee to its first College Football Playoff appearance last season. He recorded 2,616 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, while also rushing for three touchdowns as the Vols finished with a 10-3 record.

Tennessee lost 42-17 to eventual national champion Ohio State in the first round of the playoffs. However, it was still a run to be proud of for the Vols.

With Iamaleava not in the picture for Tennessee heading into the 2025 season, it will be interesting to see who takes over as QB1.