THE SUPREME COURT — BAD CALL — ALLOWED NICO IAMALEAVA TO FLEE AND CASH IN
The justices aren’t singing “Rocky Top” when an ordinary quarterback abandons $2.4 million at Tennessee, preferring $4 million-plus elsewhere after playing poorly for the Volunteers in the postseason
Have we discussed overruling a Supreme Court decision? Damn the justices? Brett Kavanaugh was a wide receiver and a cornerback in high school, before allegations of sexual misconduct in college, and he’s squarely on record in the archives: An ordinary quarterback named Nico Iamaleava can transfer and renegotiate his NIL compensation.
Or, extort it.
Which means we aren’t watching college football any longer. Officially, this charade is nothing more than an NFL feeder system, with no interest in Iamaleava’s classwork or social interactions and how he fits into life at the University of Tennessee. Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court believe free agency should help athletes and their identities — and generate millions — when firm boundaries should exist in athlete empowerment.
Boundaries are far beyond askew, I’m scared to report. Iamaleava did not play well in his team’s three losses last year and finished seventh in SEC passing efficiency. Yet he thinks a $2.4 million deal in 2025 is beneath him, preferring a contract in the $4 million range. He blew off practice Friday and alerted coaches he would not play in the spring game Saturday. That quickly, Iamaleava will enter the transfer portal this week and check out USC or UCLA in southern California, where he grew up.
And Tennessee does not have a quarterback, with the season not far away. It means certain players loom as larger than programs without any penalties, fines or abolishment. An NIL contract has no formality. Someone can leave when he desires, which undercuts what is critical about two-way loyalties. The Oregon head coach, Dan Lanning, informed Tennessee that Iamaleava’s representatives were offering services to programs including his, which didn’t want him. This is not business as we know it in America.
This is bamboozling.
“Today's landscape in college football is different from what it has been, and it's unfortunate with the situation where we're at with Nico. Obviously we're moving forward as a program without him. There’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T,” said head coach Josh Heupel, referring to Tennessee. “This program has been around for a long time. There are a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players who came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It's going to be around a long time after I'm gone and after they're gone.”
If the quarterback is the most important centerpiece in team sports, expect annual controversies involving players seeking bigger compensation. The difference: Iamaleava made little impact — 14 of 31, 104 yards in the air — when Will Howard and Ohio State throttled the Volunteers in the postseason first round. He doesn’t care if Lincoln Riley might be prepared to reward him in Los Angeles. As it is, Carson Beck left Georgia after an inconsistent season and accepted $4 million-plus at Miami. Tulane’s Darian Mensah transferred to Duke at $4 million a year. Iamaleava was 63rd nationally in total offense. Who is this guy, the college version of Russell Wilson entering free agency?
Yet, his father was firing away at reporter Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, which broke parts of the story. “More games being played off the field than on the field. Bi7ch Nakos from On3 Sports called and asked me directly, I told him I had no idea on what he’s talking about,” Nic Iamaleava said on X. “He said his ‘close source’ that he trusts with his life from the University of Tennessee staff gave him this information. So y’all can ask them what’s going on, cuz it ain’t from us!”
Did Tennessee, which started paying Iamaleava an $8 million package in high school, start to realize he wasn’t worth the grand money? Did coaches leak that he wanted out? The NIL warfare works both ways. Heupel eventually will have a prized recruit in Faizon Brandon, the nation’s No. 3 overall quarterback. Might he deserve the bigger money? The starter is freshman Jake Merklinger, who is backed up by freshman George MacIntyre. Neither is ready.
Carry on, says Heupel.
“I’ve been on some talented teams that haven't done too well because there were a bunch of individuals on those teams,” senior tight end Miles Kitselman said. “I’m not just saying this to be saying it, but man, this team is different. This team is a team. There's no one else I'd rather go to war with and letting these guys know we're good with whoever we've got at quarterback. We've got some dogs here, some guys who want to be here.”
The Supreme Court creates precedence. Chaos is not the plan in college football, where young men shouldn’t get up and leave even when the name is Iamaleava. Heupel has worked in various places as a coach, but he doesn’t dare flee Tennessee after a 10-3 season. What is the point of following the best games when no one is certain who plays where, or for how long?
The justices make errors and eye President Trump. Nico should be on the list.
“If it’s going to happen, rip the Band-Aid, too,” Heupel said. “We’ve got a chance to move forward as a program. It’s unfortunate in the landscape that it happens at this point. We’re going to have to find another guy.”
Brett Kavanaugh, stand up.
Do not sing “Rocky Top.”
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.