Josh Heupel certainly left a lasting legacy on the Oklahoma football program as a national champion quarterback, but he might have just shifted the entire college football landscape as a coach.
Entering his fifth season as Tennessee's head coach, Heupel's program made headlines this week. After multiple reports Thursday and Friday leading to this result, news broke Saturday morning that Heupel told his team that the Volunteers are moving on from star quarterback Nico Iamaleava after NIL negotiations.
Sources: Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel informed the team of the decision at a team meeting this morning. Iamaleava missed meetings and practice on Friday, which was the driver of this decision. pic.twitter.com/BsdhJMDXiz
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2025
Tennessee lets star quarterback walk instead of throwing more money at him
All this drama started Thursday when Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Iamaleava and Tennessee were in the midst of contract negotiations because Iamaleava wanted more money. Iamaleava's father then posted that it wasn't true while belittling Nakos.
Then on Friday, it was reported that Iamaleava had missed practice and team activities, just a day before Tennessee's spring game on Saturday. There were also rumors that Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who himself needs to replace Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, informed Heupel that Iamaleava's camp had reached out to other programs.
Ultimately, it seems Heupel and Tennessee didn't believe Iamaleava was worth the money and headache. Multiple reports stated that Iamaleava was set to make $2.4 million this season, but he was now asking for $4 million.
In reality, Iamaleava has the hype of a former five-star recruit, but his actual performance didn't warrant to be one of the highest-paid players in college football. Heupel peeked at Iamaleava's hand and called his bluff.
Almost like the NBA, where franchises pay a roster of only 18 players, college football programs had created the trend of throwing loads of cash at young players, whether proven or unproven, especially at quarterback.
Heupel, though, bucked the trend and said nope, and sent his quarterback packing. Tennessee will now have the spring transfer window to add a quarterback from somewhere else or elevate a player already on its roster.
If the Volunteers, after a 10-3 season with a College Football Playoff appearance, still succeed this season, then other programs should take note that they don't need to overpay players to succeed. Even before seeing the results, college football media and fans from around the country are already showing respect to Heupel for what should change the NIL landscape and give at least some control back to those in charge.
Tennessee’s decision will have major ramifications on the future of holdouts and negotiations. It’s one of the first public moments where a team has decided, thanks but no thanks. A bluff was called.
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) April 12, 2025
Credit to Josh Heupel. Set the tone that no one is bigger than the team.
I KNOW why it happens, and I KNOW why it won't change. But one takeaway I have from this Nico business is that throwing a ton of money on a HS QB, even a very highly rated one, is *really* risky.
— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) April 12, 2025
Like, look at the other dudes in this class! pic.twitter.com/gedi4EAwIA
Josh Heupel just let his starter walk over NIL. Nico was the highest rated QB in Tennessee history. It may be the ripple effect that causes other players to think twice before trying to renegotiate.
— Travis J Davidson (@TravisSkol) April 12, 2025
He’s always been a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight. pic.twitter.com/ZbAucFmnns
Feels like the decision Heupel had to make. Will be interesting to see where Nico lands. He’ll get a little more money but was it worth the PR nightmare and leaving a really good situation? Probably not.
— Gabe Ikard (@GabeIkard) April 12, 2025
Mad respect to Josh Heupel and Tennessee for standing their ground with all this. 100% did the right thing imo
— Jack Foster (@jackfostermedia) April 12, 2025
Josh Heupel is moving on from Nico Lamaleava. Huge win for him and the program not letting a kid dictate his program. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/aobFk6tsCT
— ✌🏼 (@TrojanNation5) April 12, 2025
Massive respect for Josh Heupel to not be held hostage here and tell a guy to go pound sand. Somebody will probably be dumb enough to overpay for Iamaleava because this NIL world is still such an inefficient market but he won’t likely be in a better spot than Tennessee’s offense. https://t.co/CuEfEM3l57
— Ryan Brown (@RyanBrownLive) April 12, 2025
Gained a lot of respect for Josh Heupel and Tennessee.
— Barstool Cincinnati (@UCBarstool) April 12, 2025
Since NIL is not going away it’s time to treat these players like professionals and cut them for holding out, not performing well, or seeking too much money.
Tennessee and Josh Heupel just changed the NIL landscape from here on out.
— Leland (@TennLeland) April 12, 2025