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Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava's Massive NIL Deal Projections Revealed

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Adams | Last updated Dec 21, 2024 8:20 PM ET

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava is among the top NIL earners in college football. There have been plenty of rumors about how much the Vols paid in order to land Iamaleava as a highly touted recruit.

247Sports rated Iamaleava as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 ranked player in the 2023 class. On3.com projects Iamaleava as the 13th-highest NIL earner in college athletics.

According to The Athletic's Chris Branch, Iamaleava landed a massive $8 million deal after committing to Tennessee in 2022.

"We should start by going back to the recruitment of five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who agreed to an unprecedented $8 million NIL deal in 2022 after committing to the Vols," Branch wrote on Sept. 18.

"It’s still a big number, but even just two years ago, it made waves. The largest NIL deal anyone had heard of was going to a QB who’d spurned steadier powers for oft-turbulent Tennessee."

Tennessee QB @Nico_Iamaleava8 announced his first nationwide #NIL deal through a new agreement with health and wellness supplement company @ForceFactor.@JeremyCrabtree has more on the deal facilitated by @SpyreSports: https://t.co/Zwt7wZbeAC @Volquest_On3 @Vol_Football #GBO pic.twitter.com/4fXiQ2hMQA
— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) March 3, 2023

On3 projects Iamaleava's NIL value to be $2.1 million. The Tennessee quarterback has several NIL deals, including Beats by Dre and The Dairy Alliance.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders is projected to be the top NIL earner in college sports. Sanders' NIL value is projected to be $6.5 million, more than three times Iamaleava, per On3.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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