Tennessee & Nico Iamaleava are in active contract negotiations ahead of the 2025 season

#326
#326
VolFanNC09 said:
Yeah, I get it, but it just a bad look. Negotiate before spring, then negotiate at end of spring, are we going to go through this at end of fall camp or during the season?
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I don't like it either but that's where they need a better structure. Don't understand why they can't have legally binding contracts like the NFL
 
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#327
#327
VaBornVol said:
I’m indifferent on this. I guess I hope he stays. On the other hand our offense was held to 7 or less points for entire halves most games last season. Shutout for entire halves several times.

How ever it plays out will be fine with me.
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Not all on Nico. How many fumbles did Sampson have inside the he 20 in the 1st half. I know of 3 right off the bat. That cost us points. Heupel's predictable offense is the issue. He runs the same 5 pass plays and has since Golesh left. Time for Heupel to go the Ryan Day way and hire a veteran OC.
 
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#328
#328
Vol865 said:
It's part of the discussion at hand. You're judging a QB based off of one year lol. Go look at the statistics for Hooker, Burrow, and Herbert as 1st year starters. You're comparing apples to oranges.

Also he doesn't get paid like a Heisman winner. Just because he had one of the first deals doesn't mean he had the best deal. Some of yall can't take the emotions of how you feel about NIL and separate it to look at things objectively.
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Jesus man. We’ve got a poster who’s resorted to screaming/ name calling and the bottle and you’re worried about my emotions. Whether or not he was a RS Freshman had nothing to do with whether or not someone else could put up the same stats this year that he did last year. You’re comparing apples to oranges and I can’t help you.
 
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#329
#329
508mikey said:
who is to say Brandon doesnt get a huge offer from someone else before he even gets to Knoxville
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If we let Nico walk, Brandon is going to see what we think of highly rated QBs..... at least that's what he'll hear from poachers.

"They won't work with you. We will....."

It's like asking Brandon to be sure he's getting his best deal up front because we won't be willing to move up as the market moves up for QBs.
 
#330
#330
dduncan4163 said:
I get it but what else is he supposed to do? If we let our best players walk we will become and afterthought and Huep will be coaching for his job in 2026. The SEC is dog eat dog and I don't want to regress back to days of just being happy to make a bowl game.
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It might not have helped, but if Heupel had held the line vs Gibson, maybe Nico's group doesn't feel so emboldened to put the squeeze on....assuming there's truth to this story. At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand and live with the consequences. Yeah, easy for me to say. It's not my job on the line. Still, there has to be some guidelines and limitations applied. This simply isn't sustainable. At some point, something has to give. I'm sure they'll work out yet another deal with Nico and Co. but others will see this and they'll come for their bite of the apple. Don't know how it's going to play out, but one thing I'm fairly sure of is that the average fan is gonna get screwed. Working folk won't be able to pay the costs to attend. Fans content to watch from home will face ever increasing costs for streaming and frankly, I fully expect college games to all eventually be PPV. Feel sorry for the current generation of fans. They'll never know how great things used to be in college sports or how we developed a real connection with both college and professional athletes. Greed now rules the sports world and we all know where the buck stops.
 
#331
#331
cgrish said:
Because of nil investment in Nico, I don't think anyone else will be given a chance to win the starting qb job
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Nico's deal is with Spyre and DOES NOT guarantee him the starter position, if it did Milton would have sat

On March 11, 2022, he secured a NIL deal with Spyre Sports Group which is a sports marketing and media agency. Further, on November 17, 2022, he partnered with Leaf Trading Cards. On January 26, 2023, and March 03, 2023, he again promoted Spyre Sports Group through Instagram and Twitter with promotional videos. On December 29, 2023, he made an endorsement deal with The Volunteer Club powered by Spyre Sports. Lastly, on August 21, 2024, he signed a NIL deal with Beats by Dre which is is an American consumer audio products manufacturer. The brand signed 11 college football players including Nico.
 
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#333
#333
CAVPUT said:
It might not have helped, but if Heupel had held the line vs Gibson, maybe Nico's group doesn't feel so emboldened to put the squeeze on....assuming there's truth to this story. At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand and live with the consequences. Yeah, easy for me to say. It's not my job on the line. Still, there has to be some guidelines and limitations applied. This simply isn't sustainable. At some point, something has to give. I'm sure they'll work out yet another deal with Nico and Co. but others will see this and they'll come for their bite of the apple. Don't know how it's going to play out, but one thing I'm fairly sure of is that the average fan is gonna get screwed. Working folk won't be able to pay the costs to attend. Fans content to watch from home will face ever increasing costs for streaming and frankly, I fully expect college games to all eventually be PPV. Feel sorry for the current generation of fans. They'll never know how great things used to be in college sports or how we developed a real connection with both college and professional athletes. Greed now rules the sports world and we all know where the buck stops.
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It's sustainable as long as schools like Ohio State and Michigan and Oregon are willing to START at $50M then move up as needed.

If it's not sustainable in the SEC, the B1G will take over as the conference to beat. It's a money based game now so ante up or sit out.
 
#334
#334
Vol in Buckeye Land said:
1. Yes the athletes did and do deserve to get a slice of the multi-billion dollar pie their labor makes possible.
2. Yes the current paradigm sucks.
3. No you wouldn’t.
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I would absolutely tell Nico to hit the road. Don’t try and tell me what I would it would t do. He isn’t worth his original NIL deal. Players deserve to be paid? Let’s be honest here. How many of these players woild realistically ever get a chance to go to college or make it to the NFL if the universities didn’t break the rules and give them everything? You ever listen to the way many of these guys speak? I wonder if many of them could even pass 8th grade English. Travis Henry could barely read or write.

The players never deserved this kind of power they have now.
 
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#336
#336
BigOrangeTrain said:
I would absolutely tell Nico to hit the road. Don’t try and tell me what I would it would t do. He isn’t worth his original NIL deal. Players deserve to be paid? Let’s be honest here. How many of these players woild realistically ever get a chance to go to college or make it to the NFL if the universities didn’t break the rules and give them everything? You ever listen to the way many of these guys speak? I wonder if many of them could even pass 8th grade English. Travis Henry could barely read or write.

The players never deserved this kind of power they have now.
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It’s total BS
 
#338
#338
volfeeva said:
Ohio St's QB was better than Nico and didn't take 3 years to groom him into playing like an elite qb.
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I mean Nico wasn't what we expected last year but this is ridiculous on several levels. Will Howard was pretty good at K-State prior to OSU. And never mind that Will Howard was handed the Maserati having i) a future top 5 pick in Smith to throw to, ii) a likely 1st round receiver in Egbuka as his second option, iii) a likely high future draft pick in Tate as his third option in addition to having iv) two running backs that will be taken by the mid 2nd round, v) two offensive linemen garnering first round buzz, vi) a center who will be taken in the first half of the draft. I'm sure there's a host of other uber talented players that will be high draft picks in the future beyond that.

Meanwhile Nico gets to throw i) one receiver who will be drafted maybe in the 5th round, ii) a maybe an above average JAG in Brazzel, and iii) undrafted Bru McCoy. Obviously having Sampson is good, but on the OL Cooper Mays is a late round pick at best and don't think anyone of the other guys on the OL will be a high pick in the future.

Like the situations aren't even in the same universe.
 
#340
#340
WillisWG said:
Nico's deal is with Spyre and DOES NOT guarantee him the starter position, if it did Milton would have sat

On March 11, 2022, he secured a NIL deal with Spyre Sports Group which is a sports marketing and media agency. Further, on November 17, 2022, he partnered with Leaf Trading Cards. On January 26, 2023, and March 03, 2023, he again promoted Spyre Sports Group through Instagram and Twitter with promotional videos. On December 29, 2023, he made an endorsement deal with The Volunteer Club powered by Spyre Sports. Lastly, on August 21, 2024, he signed a NIL deal with Beats by Dre which is is an American consumer audio products manufacturer. The brand signed 11 college football players including Nico.
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I think you’re struggling with the difference between DOES and DOES NOT. Might be time for last call.
 
#341
#341
Concerning Nico . . . There have been many versions of last year . . . He was a redshirt frosh / and the oline was bad . . . So you can’t judge him. That argument is bolstered by adding in . . . Expectations were too high to begin with for Nico. And he won a lot of games.

Opposite those arguments are . . . His numbers were underwhelming . . . And my eyes tell me . . . He’s not that great (very subjective I know).

Add to it . . . The prevailing thought that he will make a HUGE jump this year.

The truth is . . . It’s complicated and really we can’t know until the season plays out . . . But odds are he won’t be a generational type talent. Why? Because the overwhelming majority simply are not. Do I think he will be good? Yes. But I think he will look a lot more like last year . . . Than he will look like a generational / once every 25 years player.

But, it’s all a guess and WR play and OLine play will factor in.

UT probably has no choice but to pay him. BUT if he plays average or poorly . . . The boo birds will come out (right or wrong).
 
#342
#342
VolFanNC09 said:
I wouldn’t either, but the list is true on hype and Nico isn’t top 10 based upon his performance.

I hope he has a Heisman type year, but we are paying for potential.

I think this is all about fulfilling agreements from pre-spring. No idea why anyone went public, serves no good purpose.
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I said that as well. Of all the weekends, this is the weekend where the fans will have more access to him than most too.
 
#343
#343
RockyTop140 said:
Let him leave. Still have Merkingler and McIntyre with Faizon Brandon coming in next season. It would suck but to pull this crap at this point is ridiculous
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He hasn't showed anyone that he is worth what he is getting paid already. So let him go, you can't keep giving more money as he will pull the same thing next year. Goodbye as we see where his loyalty lies
 
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#346
#346
UTK said:
Some of yall are morons. Let him walk and tank our season? Lmao. I get it. No one likes it, but welcome to college sports in 2025. Adapt or get left behind.
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How do you know he is going to save our season, you haven seen anything yet and you are taking a chance either way. It has to stop somewhere
 
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