ATHENS — The Nico Iamaleava saga has Tennessee football fans shaking their heads and, likely, Kirby Smart nodding his.

Georgia’s 2025 SEC opener at Neyland Stadium doesn’t look quite so intimidating with the Vols’ projected starting quarterback no longer with that program.

It’s perplexing, looking in from the outside, that Tennessee was unable to negotiate a deal for its most important player.

Iamaleava, reportedly, was looking for a $2 million raise to bring his salary up to $4 million — an approximate market value for a championship caliber quarterback.

Tennessee beat rivals Florida and Alabama with Iamaleava under center and was one of only three SEC teams to make the 12-team College Football Playoffs field.

There were reports from Outkick that Iamaleava encouraged the Vols’ to secure offensive weapons in the winter portal.

But that’s no different than what sources told DawgNation Carson Beck did when he was negotiating a salary worth more than $3 million following his junior season at Georgia.

The Bulldogs, wisely, got Beck’s deal done behind the scenes and without much fanfare or any practice schedule interruption.

There’s a business to college football that Smart — who holds a business school major when he played at Georgia as well as an All-SEC safety and academic all-american — understands like few other coaches.

Smart also understands the importance of staying in tune with his players and maintaining a relationship with his quarterback and their families.

The Iamaleava saga became public when the renegotiate was leaked and the player skipped practice on Friday — the day before Tennessee’s Orange and White Game.

It’s exactly the sort of thing Smart said would happen in revenue sports until the House v. NCAA settlement was settled.

“…. Agents are literally trying to take advantage of that every minute they can,” Smart said last week as the April 7 House v. NCAA settlement hearing approached. “They want to get all they can for their client.”

Indeed, because until the ink is dry on a settlement — it was delayed until next week — salaries paid and negotiated are not subject to the $20.5 million “cap” schools are expected to be allowed to compensate student-athletes.

Iamaleava won’t be transferring to Georgia — the SEC prevents in-conference transfers in the second portal window — but the Bulldogs might still add another signal caller if the right opportunity presents itself.

Georgia needs another quarterback for depth, at the very least.

But the Bulldogs aren’t the only team in this situation, and there’s a premium for proven quarterbacks like Iamaleava.

There’s a lot of talk about how Tennessee did the “right thing” not meeting the quarterback’s ask for market value.

But the truth is, this is a contract that should have been in place before spring drills, and a relationship that should have been managed better.

Smart gets a lot of credit for his coaching skills and ability to develop talent, but this recent saga at Tennessee is a reminder that the Georgia head coach brings even more value with his management skills and understanding of what it takes to run a program.