Texas A&M’s 2025 season is still a little over four months away. Still, the Aggies are preparing to gear up for the annual Maroon & White spring game, which will take place on Saturday afternoon amid the offseason’s widespread cancellations of collegiate spring games, which won’t be happening in College Station any time soon.
Before the Aggies’ final tuneups before the game, head coach Mike Elko spoke to the media and had plenty to say on various current topics, including the state of NIL payments amid former Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was reportedly asking the Volunteers for a new NIL deal worth $4 million. This led Tennessee coach Josh Heupel to move on from the former five-star signal caller.
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Elko, like every coach above the age of 45, understands that this is the future of college football, as confusing as it looks, and it won’t be conclusive until the House vs. NCAA Settlement is, well, settled. Concerning Iamaleava’s decision to enter the transfer portal, Elko kept it brief but noted that the current system is not working.
“You should ask Marcel (Reed) if I had any words on how I would handle a similar situation between him and I.”
“We’re all on the same page across the board. Everybody agrees that the players deserve freedom. Everybody agrees that the current system is not working.”
The freedom to choose a different playing destination is not controversial, but until NIL deals are capped, astronomical deals will garner discussions regarding a lack of fairness. Elko won’t be the last SEC head coach to comment on this situation, so expect this to continue throughout the summer, leading into July’s SEC Media Days.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M football HC Mike Elko comments on the Nico Iamaleava saga
