The Tennessee Volunteers have become the subject of an NCAA investigation.
College football’s governing body is looking into the school’s dealings with quarterback Nico Iamaleava and, while details are still vague given its refusal to provide a comment, it’s believed to be centered on NIL affairs.
Knoxville News is also reporting that a certain private flight the athlete boarded has something to do with the probe.
In any case, a lawyer for Spyre Sports Group, Tom Mars, has spoken up in the program’s defense.
“In early 2022, independent of the University of Tennessee or anyone associated with its athletics program, Spyre Sports entered into a mutually beneficial contractual relationship with Nico Iamaleava that involved a limited assignment of his NIL rights, no matter which school he chose to attend,” Mars said in a statement on X.
“Such ‘representation agreements’ have become increasingly common. The parties agreed that their contractual rights and obligations would be governed by California law, which freely allows prospective college athletes to enter into such agreements.”
“The agreement required Spyre to protect the value of Nico’s NIL rights and specifically stated that ‘nothing in (the) agreement constitutes any form of inducement to ATHLETE to enroll at any school and/or join any athletic team. In short, the agreement was fully consistent with then existing NCAA NIL ‘guidelines’ and had nothing to do with recruiting Nico to the University of Tennessee or any other school.”
The aforementioned publication has reported that Spyre Sports Group has signed over 200 Tennessee athletes to NIL deals.
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According to Mars, Iamaleava could have gone to any college he wanted and still benefit from his deal as it’s linked to future success in the NFL.
The QB, who formerly attended Earl Warren High School in Downey, California, joined the Vols in 2022 and was Joe Milton’s backup last season.
He was named the starter for the Citrus Bowl following Milton’s decision to declare for the 2024 NFL draft and was named the game’s MVP after a performance that saw him throw for 151 yards and one touchdown while rushing for three scores himself in a 35-0 win over Iowa.
