Sad news: Nico lamaleava will no longer play for Tennessee vols due to…

Nico Iamaleava’s rumored NIL contract details should mean Tennessee is not in trouble with the NCAA

The Tennessee Vols are reportedly under investigation by the NCAA because of NIL deals with various student athletes.

Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s rumored NIL deal is believed to be at the center of the investigation.

Nearly two years ago, The Athletic published an article about an $8 million NIL deal that was believed to be the deal that Iamaleava signed with a collective associated with Tennessee.

Iamaleava committed to Tennessee within 10 days of the deal being signed, which was brokered by an attorney based in Newport Beach (Iamaleava is from nearby Long Beach).

If the deal that The Athletic reported on in early 2022 is Iamaleava’s NIL deal, then there are some details about it that seem to suggest that Tennessee shouldn’t be in trouble with the NCAA.

That’s because the NIL deal was specifically written in a way that it wasn’t a “pay-for-play” agreement.

The lawyer who drafted the deal acknowledged that there’s nothing in the contract that binds the player (believed to be Nico) to a college football program (believed to be Tennessee).

From The Athletic: As per NCAA rules, the contract explicitly states, “nothing in this Agreement constitutes any form of inducement for (the athlete) to enroll at any school and/or join any athletic team.” There is no mention of any specific university, only that he be “enrolled at an NCAA member institution and a member of the football team at such institution,” ostensibly to avoid violating the NCAA’s pay-for-play rule. The only specific circumstances by which the collective could terminate the contract early is if the player violates a confidentiality clause or a clause about conducting himself with “the utmost character and integrity.”

“There’s an element of trust there,” Caspino said in regards to a collective offering that much money with no written assurance the athlete will sign with the donors’ school come December.

It sounds like the contract was carefully drafted in such a way as to not break any NCAA rules. If the NIL deal that The Athletic reported on is indeed Iamaleava’s deal, then it’s hard to see what legs the NCAA has to stand on — at least when it comes to Nico’s deal specifically.

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