Living in a self-actualized Rory World now. Get ready to read about Nico Iamaleava.

The NBA cleans house. Day 1 of the offseason (for shitty teams). Coach Budenholzer gets the axe in PHX, but does get to keep $40m. David Griffin was hired at the beginning of the Pelicans’ Zion era. He’s fired and Joe Dumars might step in. Danny Ainge has permanent job security in Utah, but they won 17 games this year. Are things getting Salty by the Lake? Or is everyone ready to sweat the lottery (Hey Cooper!)

Holding space for Rory, but giving it one day before we revisit golf.

Nico Iamaleava is Iamaleaving Tennessee. Did no one else write that headline? Tennessee’s redshirt sophomore quarterback is leaving the program to pursue greener pastures. Iamaleava postured for a raise on his existing $2m NIL contract, skipped team activities Friday, and was subsequently shown the door Saturday. He’s not the first holdout, the first transfer, or even the best player to ditch a team, but his exit makes news for the following:

- Young, the man has three years of football ahead of him

- Talented, ranked only behind Archie Manning in his recruiting class and lead the Vols to a 10-3 record in his first year

- Timing, opting out at this stage is unusual in that it prohibits a player from transferring within his conference (SEC)

SEC football is a microscope. When something happens in the SEC, it’s viewed as a referendum on the game. Let’s quickly breakdown Iamaleava’s situation before talking NIL as a whole.

Carson Beck (title winner) left Georgia for Miami’s $4m offer. Darian Mensah joined the Duke Blue Devils for $8m guaranteed across two years. Wiz bam boom. The QB market reset. That Duke reset the market is radical news for QBs and bad news for actual football schools. Price go up! Iamaleava has more to offer than both players. He’s not as proven as Beck, but he offers three years. While he won’t play in the SEC, Bill Goddamn Belichick coaches at UNC. Ohio State just won the title with a one-year transfer QB. UCLA needs a QB. Iamaleava grew up in Long Beach. It only takes about 4 seconds to find schools that will pay him more than $2m.

And what does the Big Mad Community say? Well, college football is now all about money (it is). Loyalty doesn’t exist (it never did for coaches). Don’t contracts mean anything?! Maybe. Jay Bilas (lead NCAA men’s basketball voice and lawyer) is advocating that schools and players agree to more stringent, transparent, and binding contracts. He believes college sports (specifically basketball and football) need a collective bargaining agreement between the players and the NCAA. Both points are valid. However, the CBA could be a decade away. Who would the NCAA bargain with? The players don’t have a union. They’re not even technically employees. Employment laws differ state to state and the existing federal administration isn’t the most pro-union. At this point, schools need to negotiate terms on a player to player basis. Since Tennessee didn’t have a more binding multi-year commitment with Iamaleava, then they shouldn’t be shocked if he threatens to leave. They effectively negotiated player options into the deal. Think of Juan Soto signing a 1 year deal with 14 consecutive player options instead of a 15 year deal. The only catch? Depending on when the option is exercised, he can’t sign with an NL East team. Shrink that to 4 years and you get Iamaleava’s contract. Spelled out that way, in my opinion, it doesn’t sound all that crazy. Strip away the SEC element. Strip away the college sports you used to know. Tennessee signed a very player-friendly deal and then got burned. It’s not a stunner.