Nico Iamaleava NIL 'Contract Negotiations' Are Nothing New, But Making It Public Doesn't Help The Situation

The college football world was shocked on Thursday afternoon by a report surrounding Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava looking for a new contract with the Vols, as the second transfer portal window opens next week. 

One of the biggest problems that we are seeing right now in college athletics is that some of these negotiations are being made public, with one side hoping to force the others hand, while a majority of the deals currently taking place are being handled behind the scenes, without public backlash. 

According to a report from On3, Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava is currently in contract negotiations with the school's collective that would see the Vols quarterback earn more money, as the market continues to rise around college athletics. 

If you remember, a few years ago, it was the reported contract of Nico Iamaleava that sent shockwaves throughout the college athletics world. This seemingly started a ripple-effect, leading to bigger deals for quarterbacks that followed. 

In reality, this is a big deal because of the timing, which is not uncommon if you pay attention to the current basketball landscape, but different tactics are used. By the way, it's the job of folks around a player to try and get the best deal possible, if this were the case.  

According to multiple people who spoke with OutKick on Thursday, the news certainly caught folks inside the Tennessee building off-guard. But, this is a whole new world coaches and administrators are playing within now, and there will continue to be moments like this moving forward. 

Right now, with two different transfer portal periods, players have the opportunity to negotiate new deals if they see fit, or however the people representing them want to go about it. 

And, with the ongoing rush to sign players before the ‘House’ settlement is approved, it's also been a mad dash for teams to get NIL contracts in place, before a revenue-sharing cap is put into place. 

What's interesting about this case is that it was released two days before Tennessee took the field for its spring game. In reality, this kind of situation would usually be handled behind the scenes, especially when a school wouldn’t want something like this to get out. 

But, in this new era of college athletics, just about anything goes, which is an aspect of this that fans are going to have to get comfortable with. 

I've spoken with multiple coaches in college football over the past few months who tell me that deals have been made with their star athletes, but the buildup is not publicized. The strategy most commonly used to put pressure on the other side is for the player to either enter the transfer portal, or let it be known that he's thinking about this option. 

It should also be noted that if a player like Nico Iamaleava were to enter the Spring transfer portal, he would not be able to play for another school in the SEC, due to intraconference transfer rules. This detail of the spring period is not talked about enough. 

And, it should also be noted that Nico has done a great job managing the offense this spring, while also increasing his role as a leader for the Vols. 

Two Transfer Portal Periods Open Up More Negotiations For Players

Right now, with two portal periods, which coaches detest, it gives players the opportunity to hold these programs over a barrel. But, the truth is, this kind of stuff is happening every single day in college athletics. There are no longer four-year deals in college sports, but more just monthly contracts until a player feels like he's gotten enough out of whatever entity is paying him or her. 

Now, reality is going to hit Nico Iamaleava hard for a few days, or however long this continues. Tennessee fans are upset because they think since he has already been paid, there's no need to go back to the table, even after rumors of Nico potentially entertaining other offers during the winter period. To be fair, this is understandable, but it's just not reality. 

When news of NIL contracts is released daily, like the one on Wednesday that discussed Texas Tech basketball player JT Toppin getting four million to return next season, players see this as an opportunity to grab just a little more. 

And yes, they have every right to try and negotiate for more money. 

Nico Iamaleava of the Tennessee Volunteers.  (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

But now, this puts Nico in a very tough spot, and he will most likely be asked about this on Saturday following the spring game. 

This is a business, and these players are now professionals. So, there will be questions that are asked about the situation. Whether that player decides to answer those are obviously up to them, but it's hard to run from this type of situation when it plays out in the public eye. 

Whoever decided to let it be known that Nico Iamaleava was looking for more money did the quarterback zero favors in the process. This exact situation is going on all across the country right now in college athletics, with a number of high-dollar deals being done over the past few months for multiple college football players that are worth the money. But, you don't hear about them for a reason.  

As for what's next, it's a scramble towards the transfer portal window opening, with plenty of moves to be made by schools as they prepare for the upcoming era of revenue sharing.