The drama began nearly two weeks ago when Iamaleava was reported to have been looking to restructure his NIL deal with Tennessee’s collective, seeking a number in the $4 million per year range. Iamaleava had been signed to a four-year, $8 million contract.

While reports have stated that Iamaleava was seeking an increase in his NIL deal from $2.2 million to $4 million, Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports spoke to a "close family friend" of Iamaleava's father, Nic, who denied claims that Iamaleava pushed for more NIL money.

ESPN's Chris Low reported Monday that new Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar is joining the Volunteers on a NIL deal worth roughly $1.2 million. That's half of what Tennessee was set to pay former signal-caller Nico Iamaleava.