CBS Sports reporter says Vols QB Nico Iamaleava is 'playing for a contract' and has another lucrative NIL deal lined up
CBS Sports college football reporter Dennis Dodd released his way-too-early top 25 last week and he has the Tennessee Vols at No. 16. I think that's a bit low for Tennessee after they beat Clemson by 17 points in the Orange Bowl without Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt, and Jeremy Banks. But these are […]
CBS Sports college football reporter Dennis Dodd released his way-too-early top 25 last week and he has the Tennessee Vols at No. 16.
I think that's a bit low for Tennessee after they beat Clemson by 17 points in the Orange Bowl without Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt, and Jeremy Banks.
But these are meaningless rankings that will change multiple times before the 2023 season starts. The Vols are going to have to prove in 2023 that they weren't a one-hit wonder regardless of where Dodd or other writers have them ranked.
What's interesting about Dodd's rankings, though, is that he included a note about Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava and another potential NIL deal.
Iamaleava was famously rumored to be the quarterback that The Athletic wrote about last year that was set to receive an $8 million NIL deal (it was written before Iamaleava committed to the Vols).
No one has ever confirmed that Nico is the quarterback that The Athletic wrote about, but several clues pointed in that direction.
In Dodd's blurb about Tennessee, he says that Iamaleava is "playing for a contract" at UT and he has a "potential $3 million NIL deal with a local collective".
There have been too many losses for a repeat of the 11-win season, but in Josh Heupel's third campaign, the Volunteers continue their ascension to becoming a national program again. The quarterback battle will be fascinating between strong-armed veteran Joe Milton and prodigy Nicol Iamaleava, who will be playing for a contract the moment he steps on campus. (He has a potential $3 million NIL deal with a local collective.) Pass catchers Bru McCoy and Squirrel White should be enough to keep Heupel's offense humming.
I'm making an assumption here, but it sounds like Dodd is describing an incentive-based NIL deal.
If that's the case, it's a move that blurs the line between "pay for play" and legitimate NIL deals.
While this is against NCAA rules, I actually like the idea of incentive-based NIL deals. I think there are a lot of ways that NIL deals can work for players and programs. If a business wants to give a current player a certain amount of money to endorse their business/product, then they should be able to work out whatever amount makes sense.
But when it comes to recruits, NIL deals are a bit riskier. I don't think collectives are going to be on board with continually giving out mega NIL deals to recruits who don't pan out — and there are always some four-star and five-star guys who don't work out.
Incentive-based deals would prevent recruiting misses from becoming major financial losses. It provides security to the collective and it gives players some added motivation to perform at a high level (kind of like professional players in a contract year).
There's still a lot we're all learning about NIL deals and how they'll impact the longterm future of college football.
But one thing is certain — Tennessee is on the cutting edge of the NIL landscape.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK