Nico Iamaleava was reportedly a no-show at Tennessee’s spring football practice on Friday morning, a day after reports surfaced he was looking to renegotiate his NIL deal with the school.

Iamaleava passed for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2024 for the Volunteers and was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC this season. However, On3’s Pete Nakos reported Thursday that the former 5-star recruit was unhappy with his current NIL situation, and was using the upcoming NCAA transfer portal window — which opens for 10 days beginning Wednesday — as leverage.

Iamaleava’s representatives denied Nakos’ report, insisting the quarterback was happy at Tennessee and had a “great relationship” with Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel. But then Iamaleava was not present at Friday’s practice, according to reports ESPN’s Chris Low and On3’s Austin Price, adding another level of intrigue to the story.

Iamaleava signed with Tennessee as part of the 2023 class, and was one of the first players revealed to have received a multi-million-dollar NIL deal. According to reports at the time, he received around $2 million per year in exchange for his signature.

Tennessee went 10-3 in 2024, losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Volunteers open the 2025 season Aug. 30 vs. Syracuse at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.