Earlier this week, On3 Sports' Pete Nakos reported that Tennessee and quarterback Nico Iamaleava were having ongoing discussions on a new NIL contract. On Friday, in what was effectively college football's first public holdout, Iamaleava surprised the Volunteers when he skipped the team's spring practice. On Saturday, news broke that Iamaleava is expected to enter the transfer portal after contract negotiations between he and the Volunteers stalled.
And shortly after the news broke, college football fans took to X and shared plenty of reactions.
First, On3 Sports created a graphic to report the news, complete with a witty joke using Iamaleava's last name.
Then, college football fans all began making the same joke.
He tried to warn them. It’s all in his last name
— Troy Brock (@TroyBBaseball) April 12, 2025
Nico immaleaveifyoudontpaymetwomilliondollars
— Maz 🎯 (@maz_so1) April 12, 2025
Nico imma leave ya
— Him (@OutOfKenTroll) April 12, 2025
The jokes about his name were right 😭
— Jon Tafvol🍊 (@JonVolGBO) April 12, 2025
While the true nature of negotiations and how they played out will likely emerge in the coming days, others commended Tennessee for seemingly standing firm against Iamaleava's contract demands.
It’s easy to troll Vol fans for this but I gained a ton more respect for Heuple to not let this slide and affect his whole team.
— Sidelines - UGA (@SSN_UGA) April 12, 2025
This was a collective line in the sand for college coaches. Heupel didn’t make this decision alone. I would bet that every Power 4 coach reached out to him on this. Just like the military can’t negotiate with terrorists, coaches can’t let one player hold their team hostage
— Blayne Gilmer (@BGilmer18) April 12, 2025
True loyalty is rare in sports, but when you think about everything Tennessee did for Nico Iamaleava — giving him largest NIL deal at the time, suing NCAA to prevent it from potentially making him ineligible, etc. — it's not tough to see why Tennessee might fume.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) April 12, 2025
Others rued the effect NIL is having on college football.
Something needs to be done about NIL
— Onepride Nation (@onepridenation) April 12, 2025
This the part of the NIL and portal that’s about to really tear things apart if they don’t put better rules and regulations on it. It’s NFL free agency but they steadily want to act like these dudes are “student athletes” no they’re not. They’re semi pro players and yall need a…
— Vinny Chase (@Shadboogie55) April 12, 2025
Broken system. This sucks.
— Terps Recruiting (@TerpRecruiting) April 12, 2025
College football's spring transfer portal window opens on April 16, and Iamaleava figures to be one of the most sought-after players available.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nico Iamaleava Transfer Portal News Had College Football Fans All Making the Same Joke.