Nico Iamaleava Update: Cowherd says it's UCLA. Confirmed by The Athletic

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BREAKING: Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava is expected to transfer to UCLA, @TheAthletic reports

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@colincowherd

I am told — moments ago — Nico Iamaleava is going to UCLA. Family still claims it’s NOT about the money It’s about the @Vol_Football offense. I was not told what the Bruins are paying.

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But on Wednesday morning, Iamaleava entered the transfer portal after a weeklong saga in which a report suggested he was asking for more NIL money. He skipped the practice before the Vols’ spring game—which onlookers saw as a negotiating tactic. Over the weekend, the Vols parted ways with him.

Iamaleava is represented by his father, Nic Iamaleava, and by California-based coach Cordell Landers, as well as at least one lawyer. None are considered certified agents.

In a phone interview with FOS on Monday, a close family friend of Nic who has been heavily involved in his son’s NIL negotiations denied claims that Iamaleava pushed for more NIL money. “The narrative was bullshite,” says the friend, who declined to be identified by name. (Other FOS sources close to the talks dispute these claims.)

Regardless of what conversations went on behind closed doors, for Iamaleava, the damage is done. His situation is the latest example of how, in the era of unrestricted free agency, a player’s career can be damaged by bad representation, industry experts tell Front Office Sports.

Even still, Iamaleava’s camp refuses to relinquish control, blaming Tennessee and the school’s Spyre Sports NIL collective for his situation. “His representation hasn’t steered him wrong,” the family friend says. “At the end of the day, what did we do wrong to steer him and put him in a bad situation? We didn’t.”

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