Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava publicly pushed back against what he <a href=" "false reports" that his decision to transfer to UCLA was driven by an NIL dispute.

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning was surprisingly reportedly mentioned in the Nico Iamaleava drama with the Tennessee Volunteers earlier this offseason. The former five-star quarterback eventually hit the transfer portal and committed to the UCLA Bruins.

Three months after Nico Iamaleava left Tennessee for UCLA and shook the college football world amidst the most significant contract dispute in the NIL era, the star quarterback finally broke his silence.

Iamaleava sat out portions of Tennessee’s spring practices amid reports that he was looking to redo his name, image and likeness deal with the school. His father disputed the idea that Iamaleava was looking for more money and the QB entered the transfer portal on April 12.

And now, more details about his fallout with the Vols has been revealed via college football insider Kirk Herbstreit in his latest appearance on the Try That Small Town Podcast.

Iamaleava reportedly threatened to sit out the playoff game to renegotiate his contract, reportedly reached out to other programs to gauge their interest in him transferring there and apparently had his father telling head coach Josh Heupel to build a better team around him.

Bruins football head coach and alum DeShaun Foster has a positive outlook entering his second season leading the program. This offseason, UCLA secured the No. 1 transfer prospect available, quarterback Nico Iamaleava out of Tennessee.