Report: Iamaleava no-shows at UT amid NIL talks

Univ. of Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava “did not attend spring practice Friday” amid negotiations over a new NIL contract, which “came as a surprise to coaches and players,” according to sources. Iamaleava has “been in conversations with the Vols,” but the situation “has become a growing source of frustration among administrators at Tennessee and within the locker room,” sources said. The day before the winter portal window closed in December, sources said that Iamaleava’s representatives “wanted to renegotiate his deal” in the $4M range, but “his deal was unchanged.” He’s “expected to make” $2.4M with the Vols this year, sources said. With the portal set to open Wednesday, Iamaleava’s representatives “were again looking for” $4M, and sources said that Tennessee “wasn’t going to blink and pay him any more money” (ESPN.com, 4/11).