Joel Klatt: Nico Iamaleava is not the villain everybody is making him out to be

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt claimed that Nico Iamaleava was not the villain everyone made him out to be after his Tennessee saga. The former Vols’ quarterback transferred to UCLA following negotiations surrounding NIL.

The conversation surrounded, simply put, a money grab. But Klatt knew Iamaleava had his reps behind the scenes and this was just a case of something that didn’t work out for the player.

How Josh Heupel and Tennessee move on from this will be a fascinating case. As will UCLA, which will aid Iamaleava’s next chapter.

“It’s never exactly how it’s reported,” Klatt said on his podcast. “Okay, so something deeper is going on right now. Nico Iamaleava I do not think is the villain that everyone wants to make him out to be. I believe that there are other factors at play, other than just the reported request for an extra couple of million dollars in NIL.

“There have been players that have gone back into schools and said, ‘Hey, listen, I think that I deserve more money.’ Or there’s been some dispute about their NIL and in this case, Josh Heupel said no, and he said that when addressing this situation, there’s no player that’s bigger than the power T and that includes me.” 

Klatt mentioned this story isn’t unique, it was just more publicized considering Iamaleava’s standing in college football.

“It’s not the first time that a school has held their ground. It’s just the first time that you’ve heard about it, because it’s the first time that the player then also held his ground. This is just the first time that it’s come to a head. This is not a unique situation, and that a player in the spring portal window, even a star player, and I’m telling you, at some prominent programs that have gone in and said, ‘Listen, I want more money.’ And then the school says no, and then the player says, ‘Okay, I’ll stay here.’ 

“It’s just the first time that both of them drew a line in the sand and then held themselves to those lines. And I’m kind of proud of Tennessee in this case. And you know what, if you’re Nico, this is totally within his rights. I have heard that it wasn’t just about money. Now that’s the story that’s going to be pushed, and largely it’s going to be the story that lands because Nico, himself, is just a one man band in this story.”