The college football world has been divided—one half supports NIL, while the other is completely against it, viewing it as a distraction. Right now, something is stirring the pot. The House vs. NCAA Settlement introduces a new NIL oversight regime. What’s the biggest push in this new rule? The settlement aims to introduce a detailed fair market value (FMV) review process for all third-party NIL deals valued over $600. They have assigned administrative responsibility to Deloitte, which will serve as the independent NIL clearinghouse. This puts the SEC conference in trouble.

And the program now bearing the charge? It’s none other than the Tennessee Volunteers.

Guess what term Josh Heupel dreads the most right now? It’s NIL. After all, Heupel has been through a lot over the past few months, thanks to his quarterback, Nico Iamaleava, who pushed the Vols to bring out a fat check of $4 million to retain him. However, Heupel chose to stand firm and decided to move on from his 2024 starting quarterback. Just when the head coach must have thought that’s enough NIL hoopla, here comes some more….

This time, the fight won’t be with a player; Heupel will have to contend with the NCAA. On the May 26th episode of That SEC Football podcast, Cousin Shane had a question for SEC Mike. “Is it true that the SEC can kick out Tennessee if they don’t sign the agreement?”

This month, Senate Bill 536 passed in Tennessee, aiming to protect student-athletes as the NIL scene keeps shifting. But things just got more complicated. A new agreement—circulated by the Power Four conferences—demands that member schools follow NCAA rules on paying players even if state laws say otherwise. And schools must also waive their right to sue the NCAA or the conferences if they disagree with how those rules are enforced.

That puts coaches like Josh Heupel in a tough spot. They’d essentially have to play by rules, even if state law gives them more freedom. As SEC Mike bluntly put it, “Tennessee has passed this law right where they don’t have to do NIL laws—they can do whatever the h- – l they want.”

The Tennessee law applies to all four-year public and private universities in the state, including SEC members Vanderbilt and UT. It allows athletes to earn NIL money through collectives unless blocked by federal law or a court ruling. There’s even a clause letting private schools like Vanderbilt opt out of state protections to stay in step with NCAA regulations. And let’s be real—UT likely had a hand in shaping this law, given its past battles with the NCAA.

Meanwhile, schools like Memphis and Middle Tennessee State—who aren’t in Power Four conferences—probably won’t have to follow this new pay structure. This puts UT directly in the middle of another major NCAA dispute.

Things escalated when SEC Mike issued a fresh warning: “So according to Ross Dellenger, there is some kind of agreement going around the SEC where regardless of what state laws Tennessee or anybody just passed… you have to abide by the rules or they can kick your a-s out of the league.” Expulsion from the SEC? Sounds crazy, especially for a charter member like Tennessee, but this NIL storm has everyone on edge. And with a QB dilemma already on his hands, Heupel doesn’t need another grenade tossed into his lap.

Josh Huepel’s pressure as head coach increased a hundredfold

If Heupel thought that getting rid of Iamaleava would bring him good luck in Tennessee, he might have to wait a little longer to taste success. The Vols’ head coach wiped Nico Iamaleava out of his life, as if he never existed. When Iamaleava boarded the UCLA wagon, Joey Aguilar, flipped to Heupel’s squad.

On April 30th, the Tennessee head coach made an appearance on the 104-5 The Zone podcast in Nashville. That’s when he was asked to share his take on the quarterback dilemma, with the obvious mention of the “Iamaleava situation.” That’s when Heupel corrected the host….

“Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation. At the end of the day, that’s just the landscape. You’re not going to keep everybody.” So, it was obvious that the head coach had moved on from his former quarterback. While Aguilar never picked the ball for the Bruins, he threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns while completing 60.1% of his passes over 25 games at Appalachian State.

In that way, Josh Heupel has to make Joey Aguilar learn everything from the basics. The quarterback comes off as too confident with a bold promise. “I’m ready to get to work, compete at the highest level, and build something special with my teammates and coaches.” Now, the question remains: will this new name at the quarterback position bring playoff luck for Heupel?

Eric Cain sounded an alarm: “[Joey] He’s just got to protect the football. He turned the football over a ton this past year, he had a record-setting year in 2023 with App State school records and all that.” From saving identity in the SEC to sculpting a brand-new QB, Heupel’s coaching load just got a whole lot heavier.