One of the biggest college sports stories over past week involves now former University of Tennessee quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, who recently transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Iamaleava made headlines when multiple reports, stated that he sought to re-negotiate his 2022 NIL deal with Spyre Sports Group. Spyre Sports Group is the NIL Collective that supports the University of Tennessee’s athletics programs. In 2022, the deal made headlines as it was reported to be worth $8 million and at the time was considered to be the biggest NIL deal for an individual athlete.
After red shirting his freshman year, Iamaleava, delivered for Tennessee leading the team to its first ever College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. Tennessee was defeated by Ohio State University who became the champions. Soon after the season ended, Iamaleava’s representation met with the coach to discuss what would be needed to retain Iamaleava for the next football season. Iamaleava’s representation wanted assurance that the program was going to recruit a stronger offensive line and wide receivers. There are also reports that his representation wanted to renegotiate his NIL deal to $4 million per year. Ahead of Tennessee’s spring game, Iamaleava did not show up to practice, which many viewed as Iamaleava holding out as a part of his negotiating strategy. The following day The University of Tennessee announced that the football program was moving on from Iamaleava. Iamaleava entered the transfer portal and has landed at UCLA.
While the exact terms of Iamaleava’s deal with UCLA have not been disclosed, reports suggest that it is less than the $2 million per year he was receiving from Tennessee. This very public back-and-forth between The University of Tennessee football program and its star quarterback is representative of the changes taking place in college sports. It also highlights the increasing need for players and those who support them to a have solid understanding of the evolving landscape of college sports. There are three things that can be learned from this situation:
1. Building a Solid Team is of Upmost Importance
Once college athletes gained the right to profit from their NIL, they gained an opportunity to become what I call an Entrepreneurial College Athlete. As an Entrepreneurial College Athlete, college athletes now need to be education on subjects like business, marketing, brand building, negotiation and all of the legal concepts related those topics. Accordingly, college athletes now need to build a strong team of people who can help them learn about manage all those areas. College athletes, need an agent, a lawyer, and financial advisor as a start. They need people who are well versed in these areas so that they may receive adequate representation and sound advice.
2. Some Form of Collective Bargaining is Necessary to Protect the Interest of All Involved
This situation highlights again the fact that some system of collective bargaining is necessary in college sports. As schools prepare to engage in revenue sharing with their athletes, they are drafting “Memorandums of Understanding” that are in a lot of ways one sided to the benefit of the school. Schools are doing this to avoid situations Iamaleava’s. For example, some Memorandum’s of Understanding have provisions that stipulate that a school must be reimbursed if an athlete transfers. This is essentially a buyout provision. These and other provisions are being included limiting the athletes’ choice and ability to things like transfer without any input from the athletes. Adopting a collective bargaining structure with college athletes will benefit the athletes and universities. It will allow the athletes and the schools to discuss these issues and come up with rules and standards that are mutually agreeable to the schools and the athletes.
3. Understanding NIL Contracts and Contract Negotiations is Key
Understanding contracts and negotiation leverage is critical. As an Entrepreneurial College Athlete, athletes will be faced with many contracts. Contracts for NIL deals and now potential revenue sharing contracts as mentioned above. It is critical that college athletes and those who represent them are knowledgeable of contract terms to ensure the athletes does not do something like sign away all of their rights to their NIL forever or give a company an exclusive right to use their NIL. Understanding contracts and negotiation leverage will help athletes make sure they receive the full value and use these opportunities to position themselves for life after sports.
If you are a current or prospective college athlete or a parent or someone who supports college athletes and would like to learn how to help your athlete become an Entrepreneurial College Athlete, sign up to learn more about my new course: Mastering NIL: A Professional’s Guide to the New Era of College Athletics.
College and high school athletes have been granted the right to profit from their name, image, and likeness! Yayyyyyy!!! College and high school athletes can now enter NIL Deals. This is an exciting opportunity for college and high school athletes. However, there are certain topics that college and high school athletes and their parents need to know before entering any NIL Deal. Download by free NIL Contract Checklist for 5 contract terms to know! For more on college athletes' name, image, and likeness rights follow me on Twitter @esquire_coach and on Instagram and TikTok @the_esquirecoach. To receive updates from The Esquire Coach Blog directly to your email please subscribe below.