The college football world was turned upside down following the dismissal of Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava from the program after he missed a day of spring practice as a part of a holdout to secure more NIL money.
Reportedly, Iamaleava, who was set to earn $2.4 million in 2025, was looking for a number closer to $4 million. Now, the young quarterback is at risk of not even receiving the initial $2.4 million, as he remains in transfer portal purgatory.
Now, one prominent ESPN pundit was warning teams to consider keeping their distance.
“I would stay away from him,” said Finebaum, according to Awful Announcing. “Buyer beware of this guy. It’s not even Nico. It’s the whole apparatus. Something tells me Nico personally is not personally in the middle of these negotiations. Team Nico is.
“I mean, there is a toxic feeling about this player because of the attention. Because he is the one everyone is talking about. I would be very careful.
“First of all, I mean, you guys are better evaluators than I am. But he’s a good quarterback. You know, how elite is he? I mean, if you don’t have a quarterback, he’s by far a better option than some guy who can barely get the signals in from the coach on the sideline.
“But I don’t think, in the short term, and that’s all we’re really talking about with him, he is going to make a significant difference.
“Can he help? Sure. We saw that with Tennessee. I mean, if you look at Tennessee’s schedule right now, a couple of games that were Tennessee favored, toss-up games are changing at the moment until Tennessee can clear that up. So, he can impact a football team.
“But, you also have to decide, what is the cost? Everywhere he goes, there is going to be this halo around him that says, ‘He held out. He asked for money. He’s a problem child. Stay away.’”
It’ll be interesting to see where the young gunslinger lands
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.