Hugh Freeze addresses impact of Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee conflict on college football

On Saturday, Tennessee football sent shockwaves throughout college football when it announced it was parting ways with quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement on an NIL deal for Iamaleava, who was reportedly seeking a $4 million NIL deal; a massive increase from his previously reported $2.2 million deal with the program.

The news broke on Saturday morning, just hours before teams across the country kicked off their annual spring games. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze revealed his reaction to the stunning news.

“I honestly did not hear about that until Saturday after our spring game because I don’t follow stuff like I used to,” Freeze said. “But, Paul, our game needs some change, for sure, as you know.

“I don’t know the specifics of that situation, and certainly wouldn’t comment on another school’s deals, but until we get some structure around us where there is some accountability to the contracts that are signed with collectives and schools, I think we’re going to be up for some of this that’s not healthy for our sport, truthfully.”

Some analysts believe the dispute between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee will be looked back at as a pivotal point in teams’ relationships with their players. Tennessee didn’t bend the knee to Iamaleava and instead, simply ended their relationship with the QB.

This action could set a precedent for other programs around the country when they face a similar situation in the future. Freeze hopes there are changes in the way deals between schools and players are handled.

“Hopefully, that’s coming, where there’s some agreement in principle,” Freeze said. “If there’s a contract signed, and unless the school allows you out of it for some reason — if you’re going to another place, then there’s some type of buyout principle, like we do as coaches. Hopefully, that will be part of the new world that we have that allows us to kind of know what our roster will look like from semester to semester.

“You go through a whole spring and you work with this team. You think you know who you have. Really, you don’t know until we get through this next period of time that’s coming up here this week.”

On Wednesday, the transfer portal’s spring window will officially open. Some teams around the country could be facing a similar dilemma to the one Tennessee dealt with this past weekend.

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