Urban Meyer believes Nico Iamaleava will look back on transfer from Tennessee with regret

There may not have been a bigger story in the spring than the NIL dispute between quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers. That dispute ended with Iamaleava transferring to the UCLA Bruins for the 2025 season.

For former head coach Urban Meyer, Iamaleava was the most famous of several players making similar moves. It’s also a decision he’s concerned that Iamaleava or other players will regret, as he explained on The Triple Option.

“Nico is the most famous of the stories out there,” Urban Meyer said. “Where I always tell people this is gonna be one of those deals a couple of years from now, they’re gonna say whether it be father, whether it be third uncle, or whether it be an agent. Now, tell me again why I did that?”

In the case of Iamaleava, there were reports that his family was highly involved in the dispute. In particular, his father became a key figure in negotiating for a larger NIL deal at Tennessee. That’s advice that a lot of young players lean on, but it’s also advice that Meyer thinks they may regret taking in the long run.

“Let’s go back here and review what happened. Why did I just do that? Because a 17, 18, 19, 20-year-old, with all due respect, they’re not equipped to make that decision. They can’t. That’s why they call parents ‘parents,” Meyer said. “That’s why they call coaches ‘coaches.’ Someone’s got to advise and help them that’s been through the wringer a little bit. Then, all of a sudden, you wake up one day and you find yourself in a really bad situation, you’re gonna be like, ‘What in the hell did I do that for?'”

In the short term, Iamaleava is going to be making less in NIL at UCLA than he did at Tennessee. He was reportedly making $2.2 to $2.5 million annually at Tennessee. That number is reportedly set to decrease at UCLA, though it will still be better than $1.5 million.

Beyond that, Iamaleava finds himself in a difficult situation. At Tennessee, the Volunteers were hoping to be competitive in 2025. UCLA, on the other hand, has been rebuilding. Now, needing to learn the system at UCLA quickly, Iamaleava finds himself as a piece in a rebuild and not in a College Football Playoff contender. That could make it harder to stand out for scouts at the NFL level.

Only time will tell if Iamaleava regrets his decision. One thing is clear, though, and that’s that the move he made comes with plenty of risks.