According to internal records obtained by Knox News, quarterback Nico Iamaleava had university-paid counsel ready to fight the NCAA for his rights to name, image, and likeness advantages when he signed a national letter of intent to play at Tennessee in December 2022.
By the time the quarterback enrolled, UT had already spent tens of thousands of dollars on attorneys to represent Iamaleava and other athletes in the NIL. In collegiate sports, NIL deals have become a crucial component of successful high-level recruiting; without them, programs cannot attract the finest athletes.
The university beat NCAA investigators who went after particular colleges for violating NIL guidelines, which were eventually found invalid, by bringing in professional assistance at an early stage.
The shocking discovery that UT had been anticipating the NCAA probe, which surfaced on January 30, is that it was known for more than a year.
UT paid Bond, Schoeneck & King, the law firm that handled the recruitment issue under sacked football coach Jeremy Pruitt, bills for which Knox News got through an open records request.
Nevertheless, a closer look showed that there were two sets of BSK bills for general consulting on the Pruitt issue and general advising on what would eventually become the current NCAA violations investigation during the months of December 2022 to February 2023.
