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The ups and downs of NIL for Nico Iamaleava

Are there more benefits than disadvantages?

Over the past few weeks, former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the team had a falling out over his NIL money, with reports stating that Nico was asking for $4M per year in NIL payments.

Nico was a no-show at practice and team meetings two weeks ago (much to the surprise of head coach Josh Heupel and his teammates) and announced shortly after that he would be transferring.

Earlier this week, Nico committed to UCLA and is reportedly earning approximately $1.9M per year in NIL money.

As with most any story - the truth lies somewhere in the middle of why Nico made his demands, how accurate said NIL demands were, and who was ultimately pulling the strings in the situation.

So, will this be an NIL benefit or detriment for Nico going forward?

Benefits

• Larger market

  • Nico relocates from Knoxville, TN to Los Angeles, CA. This move alone pretty much guarantees many more NIL opportunities, given the size of LA and the resources/connections/brands available in southern California.

  • There are also industries in LA that are most likely not available in Knoxville (mainly entertainment and music) that Nico can tap into to earn unique NIL deals.

• Don’t hate the player, hate the game

  • It’s a generic phrase, but I have no issues with Nico asking for more money. He has a right to do that within the current system, so might as well ask for it. (Whether he deserves $4M per year is another story.)

  • Unless more structure is put in place, we will see more athletes asking for more and more NIL money.

Detriments

• Taxes

  • Nico took a slight paycut from Tennessee ($2M per year) to UCLA ($1.9M per year). However, the taxes he’ll pay will greatly increase.

  • Tennessee has no state income tax, while California is one of the highest tax states in the country. Nearly 50% of Nico’s money will go to taxes living in Cali, so staying in Tennessee would have kept more of Nico’s money in his pocket, not the government’s.

• Bad look for NFL

  • When he begins to explore NFL opportunities, this situation will arise with nearly every NFL team. Executives will grill him on his decision making, and may view him as someone who shies away from pressure, leaves when he doesn’t get what he wants, etc.

  • Nico will need to be ready to answer these questions and assess whether transferring (and losing NIL money) was worth it in the long run.

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