Paul Finebaum believes Tennessee did college football a "tremendous favor" by not bending to Nico Iamaleava's NIL demand 

The split between the Tennessee Volunteers and Nico Iamaleava was in the spotlight of the college football world during the weekend. The quarterback was anticipated to lead the Volunteers’ offense for another season but found himself out of the program at the tail end of spring camp.

The development sparked widespread commentary, with pundits weighing in on the broader implications of NIL deals and contract negotiations. With the NIL landscape largely unregulated thus far, student-athletes are leveraging their position in pursuit of more lucrative deals.

Iamaleava made his renegotiation move at a crucial time in the calendar with the spring transfer portal set to open. However, the Volunteers chose to move on from him rather than engage in renegotiation demands. This attracted the praises of Paul Finebaum on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.”

“Had Tennessee acquiesced and bent the knee, I think it would have been an even bigger story,” Finebaum said via On3.com. “I think you’d have seen players on every campus going: ‘OK, well he got away with it, why can’t I?’ And I think that would’ve been a real issue.

“Tennessee did the rest of college football a tremendous favor by saying ‘No’ and maybe taking the short-term pain. I think Friday, when this story was starting to break, I think a lot of people assumed Tennessee would give in, because that’s just the way it is.

“But I think ultimately a lot of things went into Tennessee’s decision, namely they stood up for this guy. They went to bat for him when it looked like he was going to be declared ineligible by the NCAA, and they got nothing back from a thank-you standpoint," he added.

Paul Finebaum says programs have to treat NIL like a business deal after Nico Iamaleava fiasco

The drama between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee has further augmented the real issues on the ground for college football programs in dealing with NIL. While there's a strong call for regulations at the federal level, Finebaum believes teams have to adopt a business-like approach to NIL.

“I think it resets college football at a moment when it’s going to be reset anyway, and I hope programs around the country will learn from this,” Finebaum said. “Because just to pay money because someone is unhappy is the wrong thing to do. You have to treat this like a business.”

Nico Iamaleava is now expected to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Wednesday, seeking to continue his college career elsewhere. The quarterback was impressive with the Volunteers last season, and he's expected to be a coveted prospect in the spring camp.