Cam Newton believes in the saying that good advice saves and bad advice kills.
In the case of ex-Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava leaving the Volunteers amid an NIL discrepancy, the former NFL MVP worries the young prospect is suffering due to the latter.
Iamaleava sat out Tennessee’s spring practice in hopes of landing an NIL deal that would bump him from roughly $2.4 million to $4 million, per ESPN, leading to a messy divorce.
“Whoever gave him the advice to sit out killed that kid,” Newton said earlier this week on his “4th&1 with Cam Newton” program. “Regardless of how you bounce back from this, you will be the example. There are certain things in people’s careers that it just sticks. … With Nico, he will have this stain on his career and it’s sad because, to Dan Orlovsky’s point, he is still a kid that’s being guided by other people, whether it’s his father, whether it’s his agent, if it’s his family members. It doesn’t matter.”
The standoff may cost Iamaleava millions if he has to settle for a lower NIL deal, according to ESPN, with UCLA emerging as his next potential home.
Newton said that focusing on the money is the wrong strategy for a youngster.
“Whoever gave this kid the advice to sit out and chase in hopes for more money is a fool because the reality is this, and I’ll need to tell everybody about what NIL was and is intended for. It’s just to make your college experience comfortable. This is not forever money,” Newton said. “You have to understand that. Even though you’re talking about millions and millions and millions of money, you’re at 19-years-old, that money ain’t gonna last past 24. You dig what I’m saying. At 35, everybody love to say, ‘I got old money, I got old hundreds.’ Listen, at 35, I probably got money at 30 still saved. But at 22, 23? Money been spent.”
Newton knows Iamaleava after spending time with him at his QB Skills Challenge event and praised him for being a “good kid” and having an unbelievable “family.”
He even noted that the time to leave would have been after Tennessee’s College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State in December.
Instead, this situation festered around Tennessee’s spring game as the sides reportedly discussed a new deal and the quarterback no-showed.
Iamaleava reportedly wanted to be paid around $4 million per season, upping a deal that could have landed him around $10 million if he finished his career with the Volunteers, per ESPN.
A friend, however, told Front Office Sports the dispute was not about money.
Newton speculated that someone close to the quarterback pointed out how other transferring signal-callers received large paydays this season.
“I did not see this coming. But what I do see about kids and college athletes is, they’re getting it from so many places, ‘Bro, if I was you, you heard how much he signed for?'” Newton speculated. “Just imagine, real example. And I can guarantee you what happened. When Carson Beck left Georgia to go to Miami and he realized Carson Beck made $10 million? I’m better than Carson Beck, I know I can slap ’em for $12, but I’m just making $1.7, $2 million, $3. Bad advice can kill you.”
Newton said that Iamaleava needs to filter advice through the lens of whether or not people around him have been in his situation, since that adds legitimacy.
The former Panthers star said his father is the most influential person in his life, but there are certain topics in which his pops can’t offer much.
He believes there’s a chance for Iamaleava to ultimately change the narrative surrounding him.
“Just stay who you are, bro,” Newton said. “Stay the course. It’s unfortunate to have somebody this young, this talented, have this narrative be with him going forward.
“Can you come back from this? Absolutely. But you must understand. Learn from this and I hope you will, and just make better decisions. … The main thing is becoming the best football player that you can possibly be. The money will come.”