Nico Iamaleava’s holdout at Tennessee and the NIL rumors surrounding it, explained

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The first high-profile holdout in college football is here.

The University of Tennessee football team and starting QB Nico Iamaleava are at a bit of an impasse.

After rumblings of a rift between the Volunteers’ starter and the team began a few months ago, the first public shot has been fired, with Iamaleava holding himself out of Tennessee’s spring practice session on Friday until he gets a new name, image and likeness (NIL) deal, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.