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Tennessee moving on from starting QB Nico Iamaleava who was demanding more money

I just can’t believe it was Tennessee of all schools that took this type of stand. They probably had no choice, though. If they renegotiated his contract, they would have to renegotiate many other contracts on that roster. Apparently the fans were all done with this guy as well and wanted him gone.
NFL players have long gotten over what the guy next to him in the lockerroom is making for $$. This guy doesn’t, and got out over his skis….good for Tennessee. Can’t wait until other schools start pushing back and regaining the leverage.
 
Ok. I'll bet Nico winds up somewhere making more NIL than he would have at Tennessee.
Perhaps he does, but that does not negate the fact that he was not very good last season. The potential that a few desperate teams may overpay for his services does not substantiate Tennessee being required to give him a raise and risk getting stuck in a trap of giving everybody else a raise on the roster. It’s not sustainable.
 
Ok. I'll bet Nico winds up somewhere making more NIL than he would have at Tennessee.
This whole thing makes no sense if he doesn't make more than his current $2.4M ... and that was so low that he bailed on them.
 
The info I have read is that he's struggling and Kienholz is close. This is from the same people who pretended Devin Brown was keeping it close with Will Howard last year. Grain of salt.
Today was OSU's spring game. Sayin played very well. Surprised if Sayin does not start.
 
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I don’t think any of us concur with your logic regarding Nico. By all accounts, his performance was substandard versus good competition, including against your very own school. At this point, I don’t think there’s anything that substantiates his NIL demands.


We can disagree. In 2024, Nico completed 64% of his passes, 19 TD's, 5 int's. Don't know the quality of his wr's. If he had OSU's his stats would have been better.
 
Just curious what about his 14/31 for 104 yards performance vs the Buckeyes impressed you?

Actually, if Day isn't feeling it with Sayin, I could see the Buckeyes making an offer here. He is also a sophomore rising to Junior for '25.
Sayin played really well today - so did Kienholz. They seem set at QB with that 5-star FR ( can't remember his name} as their 3rd QB
 
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The info I have read is that he's struggling and Kienholz is close. This is from the same people who pretended Devin Brown was keeping it close with Will Howard last year. Grain of salt.
Yeah, can't believe everything you read. My son is close to a couple of the asst coaches and they say just the opposite about Sayin - he's extremely accurate and has a decent arm strength wise. I (and many others) will be surprised if he's not the starter this year
 
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Nico is a California kid, went to the same high school in Downey that my cousins went to. I wouldn’t put them in the top 10 returning quarterbacks personally what I could definitely see someone taking a shot on him with his arm and athletic capability.
 
The side of this you're not considering is that the schools have massive contracts from networks to play games. These players were putting their bodies on the line for a pittance... 30k and some food.

The next stage was paying coaches $10M. The same guy who went .500 is now earning $10M, all while these players are putting their bodies on the line for $30k and some food.

Management, let's call it, was getting flown all over the country to visit bowls and eat dinners, including flying their families, all while these players are putting their bodies on the line for $30k and some food.

So yeah, CFB is dead. But it was already dead 10 years ago when the money got stupid and the players were left holding an empty bag of a worthless degree while everyone else was getting rich. CFB didn't suddenly die because players demanded a share of the money.

LdN
Where are you getting the 30k number you keep repeating? Or are you using that just as an example?
 


We can disagree. In 2024, Nico completed 64% of his passes, 19 TD's, 5 int's. Don't know the quality of his wr's. If he had OSU's his stats would have been better.
I think Nico had a very nice season. He was just absolutely lost against Ohio State.
 
All of this happened in spite of Tennessee using the state attorney general to file suit against the ncaa to get him to Knoxville. Evidently if you get into bed with a rattlesnake you can certainly expect to get bit
 


We can disagree. In 2024, Nico completed 64% of his passes, 19 TD's, 5 int's. Don't know the quality of his wr's. If he had OSU's his stats would have been better.
tn had very good wide receivers last year. Anybody would look better if they had OSUs wide receivers. I watched a lot of tn games last year and 1. Nico was average and 2. he couldn't hit the deep pass consistently
 
Kid is 20 years old and his first season as a starter. Why does everyone expect these kids to all be nfl hall of famers their first year. He had a solid foundation season last year and will develop
 
All of this happened in spite of Tennessee using the state attorney general to file suit against the ncaa to get him to Knoxville. Evidently if you get into bed with a rattlesnake you can certainly expect to get bit
Who is the rattlesnake here? The kid, who just wants to take advantage of a system that's been taking advantage of kids for decades, while the fat cats get rich off their efforts? Or someone else?
 
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This saddens me to see as it is one more thing in a growing list of new realities in college football that no one likes but everyone acknowledges are here to stay. The game we’ve loved growing up is gone forever. Now instead of the consummate team sport, it’s deteriorated to just another all about me money grab.

College Football has always been a money grab. Prior to NIL, greedy presidents and athletic directors from colleges and universities pocketed billions on the backs of student athletes for decades.

Don’t forget the head coaches either. Tom Allen made an additional $15.5 million after getting fired with a 60% loss record at Indiana. Many coaches at big time programs like Penn State have buyout clauses for millions of dollars in the event they are fired for poor performance.

The available money is causing people to behave exactly as expected in a capitalistic society. This is business. Nothing personal.
 
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This is second hand information, but my brother-in-law is from Tennessee and he said that the reason the school decided to just drop him is that the big booster who was paying Nico for the school said that Nico did not fulfill his obligations for the money. I guess the kid was supposed to sign a bunch of gear and attend some autograph shows and dinners and those type of things and bailed on most of them.
 
This is second hand information, but my brother-in-law is from Tennessee and he said that the reason the school decided to just drop him is that the big booster who was paying Nico for the school said that Nico did not fulfill his obligations for the money. I guess the kid was supposed to sign a bunch of gear and attend some autograph shows and dinners and those type of things and bailed on most of them.
Find that hard to believe but anything is possible
 
I can't imagine that Ohio state would have any interest in Nico. Brian Hartline and Ryan Day emphasized to will Howard that his job was to complete passes and not be a hero. There is no evidence that Nico is a consistently good thrower of the football and can execute a disciplined game plan. He is a substantial downgrade from both Sayin and tavien St Clair, who were both ranked in the top two of their own recruiting quarterback classes.
 
Didn’t the poor kid sign a contract?

I don't know if he did. Do you? What's in the contract? Tell us, specifically, the verbiage and relevant terms.

Kids have been signing contracts (that's what LOI are) for years ... young kids dealing with used car salesman who make millions off herding the cattle.

I don't necessarily hold the kid without fault ... that's not the point ... the point is that the system has been taking advantage of kids for decades, and very few gave a crap. Now that the kids may be retaking some of that advantage, certain folks ... apparently, like you ... are crying on behalf of the poor millionaire coaches and large institutions of "higher learning." Because you have your priorities set right.
 
College Football has always been a money grab. Prior to NIL, greedy presidents and athletic directors from colleges and universities pocketed billions on the backs of student athletes for decades.

Don’t forget the head coaches either. Tom Allen made an additional $15.5 million after getting fired with a 60% loss record at Indiana. Many coaches at big time programs like Penn State have buyout clauses for millions of dollars in the event they are fired for poor performance.

The available money is causing people to behave exactly as expected in a capitalistic society. This is business. Nothing personal.
that's because Universities have too much available money and leaders are s----y negotiators
 
I don't know if he did. Do you? What's in the contract? Tell us, specifically, the verbiage and relevant terms.

Kids have been signing contracts (that's what LOI are) for years ... young kids dealing with used car salesman who make millions off herding the cattle.

I don't necessarily hold the kid without fault ... that's not the point ... the point is that the system has been taking advantage of kids for decades, and very few gave a crap. Now that the kids may be retaking some of that advantage, certain folks ... apparently, like you ... are crying on behalf of the poor millionaire coaches and large institutions of "higher learning." Because you have your priorities set right
The kid is a millionaire too
 
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