Sources - Tennessee moving on from starting QB Nico Iamaleava - ESPN

Tennessee is moving on from starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, sources told ESPN, in the wake of his decision to not attend practice Friday amid NIL contract discussions with the school.

Volunteers coach Josh Heupel informed the team at meetings Saturday morning. Tennessee plays its spring game Saturday afternoon. Sources said Iamaleava missing practice Friday proved to be the tipping point.

Iamaleava notified offensive coordinator Joey Halzle late Friday night that he was in the process of filling out his paperwork and planned to enter the transfer portal when it opens Wednesday, sources told ESPN's Chris Low. Heupel and other staff members had been trying to reach Iamaleava and his representatives to no avail after he missed practice and meetings earlier Friday, sources said.

The standoff between the two sides stemmed from Iamaleava's contract, and the school decided to cut ties after those talks emerged publicly this week and Iamaleava subsequently skipped practice.

Tennessee was aware that Iamaleava's representatives had reached out to at least one other school, Oregon, prior to the start of spring practice, sources told ESPN, but Oregon said it wasn't interested.

The day before the winter portal ended in January, Iamaleava's representatives asked for his deal to increase to the $4 million range, but Tennessee didn't redo his deal.

«We weren't going to flinch this time either,» a source told ESPN.

Iamaleava was making $2.4 million on a contract that was reported to be $8 million when he signed it. But he started receiving payments when he was still in high school, and the total value of the contract would have been closer to $10 million over the life of the deal, sources told ESPN.

Iamaleava just completed his