Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava missed the Vols’ spring practice on Friday amidst ongoing friction with the program regarding NIL renegotiation. The entire controversy surrounding the renegotiation has had fans and analysts wondering how good and important Iamaleava might be.
Naturally, it leads us back to his high school career where he laid the foundation for what he did at Tennessee last season.
Iamaleava’s high school career saw him represent two schools: Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California, and Warren High School in Downey, California. After starting out at Poly, he transferred to Warren, where he spent his sophomore and junior seasons before returning to Poly for his senior season.
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Commenting on his initial transfer from Poly to Warren, his father explained:
“He just felt more comfortable at Warren. We've always had a good relationship with Coach Pearson, and Nico is still tight with all of the players there.”
Iamaleava’s participation in his first season at Warren was limited to just four games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he recorded a 331/1 touchdown to interception ratio as a junior.
With his return to Poly for his senior season, Nico Iamaleava headed for his most impactful season in high school. He passed for 1,726 yards and 25 touchdowns, rushing for six more scores. A dominant performance saw him crowned the MVP of the Polynesian Bowl as his stock rose as one of the top prospects in the 2023 class.
Highly sought after, Iamaleava chose to commit to Tennessee, earning himself a landmark NIL deal. His 2022 deal with Tennessee's NIL collective would see him earn $8 million over his career at Oxford.
More on Nico Iamaleava’s NIL disagreement with Tennessee
At the time Nico Iamaleava signed with Tennessee's NIL collective, it was the biggest NIL deal in college football. However, more than two years on, the standout quarterback has decided that he should earn more. The idea of NIL has become big over the past two years, and college athletes are getting more remuneration.
Reports indicate that Iamaleava’s representatives moved to open renegotiations in December just before the winter transfer portal window had closed. The goal, according to reports, is to get a new deal that would raise the quarterback’s expected annual $2.4 million earning to $4 million.
However, the program might be unwilling to yield to the request, creating the current impasse.
