"We're going to see a lot of this": LSU HC Brian Kelly reacts to Nico Iamaleava's fiasco with Tennessee 

Brian Kelly entered the trending discussion within the Tennessee football program on Saturday. With the spring transfer portal window set to open, quarterback Nico Iamaleava attempted to renegotiate his NIL contract with the school, leading to a standoff that led to his exit.

Sharing his perspective on the issue and the future of college football, Kelly pointed to Iamaleava’s situation as a potential sign of what’s to come. The LSU coach noted there's now a stronger possibility of recording more holdouts.

"Well, I think we're in this period of adjustment," Kelly said after LSU concluded spring camp. "I think we've got a settlement that is in the throes of being decided.”

“The House settlement is coming close. That will bring us, most likely, some form of revenue sharing. I think there's changes coming in NIL. I think this is the first version of corrections, maybe. I think that we're going to see a lot of this."

Brian Kelly echoes the opinion of many coaches across the college football world regarding the current NIL landscape. The little to no regulation of the concept has seen many athletes take advantage of it, leading to a continuously uncertain athletic system.

Nico Iamaleava will enter the transfer portal when it opens on April 16, marking the end of his collegiate journey with the Volunteers. The quarterback impressed as a starter last season and there was a lot of anticipation across Knoxville for 2025.

Brian Kelly believes the landscape will learn to navigate the NIL world

The fiasco between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee is one of the occurrences that will continue to teach lessons on NIL. The Volunteers found themselves in an unexpected situation at a delicate time with the exit of the quarterback. Brian Kelly believes the landscape will adapt in navigating the complexity of the NIL world.

"This was a new world," said Kelly. "I think we're going to navigate it the best that we can, but I think that there's going to be other situations that come, and we're just going to have to do the best we can.”

“I think there's going to be better information out there that will allow people to look at comps for positions and say, 'That makes sense, that doesn't make sense.' It'll allow us to navigate this a lot more reasonably moving forward, for good or bad."

Brian Kelly has had his fair share of NIL debacles with the commitment flip of class of 2025 No. 1 prospect Bryce Underwood to Michigan in November. This came just a month before the early signing period, creating a lot of disappointment in Baton Rouge.