In April, the UCLA Bruins announced that former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava had joined the team after leaving the Volunteers over a contract dispute.
ESPN reported in April that Iamaleava’s representatives sought a $4 million NIL deal for 2025. After missing practice on April 11 while trying to renegotiate his contract, he left the Volunteers, entered the transfer portal, and ultimately joined UCLA.
While it’s yet to be seen how Iamaleava’s tenure with the Bruins will go, FOX Sports host Colin Cowherd wishes that the signal-caller had stayed with the Volunteers rather than making the move to Los Angeles.
However, he did go on to make a surprising take.
“He shouldn’t have left Tennessee,” Cowherd said on the “Joel Klatt Show.” “They have better players. You’re going to face more NFL bodies, maybe in that schedule compared to UCLA this year. But he is good, and he is what the NFL is looking for, and he moves really, really well. And I watched Tennessee play a couple of times last year, and I’m like, ‘This kid’s going to be good.’”
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Cowherd isn’t denying the talent of Iamaleava. He does caution that he will be the first in being a cautionary tale, though, at least when it comes to pursuing more NIL money over putting himself in the right situation to prepare for a potential NFL career.
From the same April ESPN report, it was revealed that Iamaleava’s contract was worth $8 million when he signed it, with $2.4 million allocated to him. He began receiving payments while still in high school, and the total value of the deal would have been around $10 million over its full term.
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“If this kid pops, I mean, keep your eye on UCLA’s quarterback—will he become the cautionary tale of NIL? Will he be the, ‘Oh, don’t do that.’ Will he be the example of—don’t chase. Because he didn’t chase the dollars at UCLA. He said it was family,” Cowherd said. “But in the end, basically, the family offended Tennessee. Tennessee said, ‘Stop sign, out.’”
During his time with the Volunteers, Iamaleava appeared in 18 games, completing 63.6 percent of his passes while recording 2,930 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
It will be interesting to see whether he can produce these exact numbers at UCLA, who will likely have less talent than Tennessee.
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