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.

Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava stunned the college football world last season when he decided to enter the transfer portal and go to UCLA.

Iamaleava, the returning starter at Tennessee, left the team on the eve of the spring game due a reported NIL dispute, and eventually transferred to UCLA. The former five-star recruit’s departure was one of the stories of the offseason in college football.

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.

The new Bruins quarterback disputed reports about the reasons behind his dramatic departure from Knoxville and discussed his perspective on what happened.

Tennessee football standout Boo Carter missed numerous team activities, and team leaders confronted him. Now his status is uncertain.