Big Ten media days took place over this past week as Fall Camp is a few days away across the country. UCLA head coach Deshaun Foster talked about the Nico Iamaleava drama after the wild offseason surrounding Tennessee and the Bruins.
There were a lot of reports and rumors surrounding Nico Iamaleava's exit from Tennessee, including his demands for a raise in NIL money.
More reports came out that his dad was involved in contract negotiations and was shopping Nico around to West Coast teams before Josh Heupel was tipped off that Nico was possibly looking to move to another program for more money.
Nico couldn't repair his relationship with the coaching staff and team and was forced to transfer. UCLA and Foster were desparate for a splash move and brought in Nico without hesitation. As a result, Tennessee picked up Joey Aguilar in the transfer portal to replace Nico.
Foster was asked about the situation by the Big Ten media and shut down any thought of Nico's transfer being about NIL money, similarly to how Nico claimed his transfer decision was about family, not money.
"I know there’s narratives being created that aren’t necessarily true or whatnot, but don’t worry about it, you’ll get your opportunity," Foster said about Nico at Big Ten Media Days.
"It’s just weird to me because a million kids got in the portal this offseason. Over a thousand, you know? And some for other reasons.
"You even had coaches say – I think [Syracuse head coach] Fran [Brown] said that his guy wanted $2.4 [million] or something, his receiver. Nobody killed him for that. They’re paying kids now. You can get paid, so that’s part of it. But I don’t think that he’s making decisions off money. I don’t think so."
NIL has undoubtedly changed the game of college athletics, especially with minimal rules and regulations tied to NIL and the transfer portal.
Foster and Iamaleava worked hard to change the narrative around the offseason drama, but if things go south for the Bruins again this season, Iamaleava could be looking for another home to earn more NIL money, win more games, or both.