By Scott Dochterman
When UCLA became the favorite to land former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal, the first reaction of college observers wasn’t how the former five-star would fit with the Bruins’ roster. Instead, the question was, how could UCLA even afford him?
Iamaleava left Tennessee earlier this month after he and the program reached an impasse over his NIL payments, The Athletic and other outlets reported. A Long Beach, Calif., native, Iamaleava initially signed with Tennessee’s Spyre Sports Group collective while in high school for $8 million over four years. Iamaleava was set to earn $2.2 million next season but attempted to renegotiate this spring to earn closer to $4 million. The collective rebuffed his asking price, and Iamaleava skipped practice. The sides then parted ways.
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On Sunday, Iamaleava announced on Instagram that he had committed to UCLA. No details of any financial agreement reached with his new school were immediately revealed, but the circumstances of his Tennessee exit imply that the Bruins were able to compensate their new QB in some meaningful way. And although UCLA’s financial challenges are well-known, its collective is a separate matter.
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UCLA’s athletic department has spent $200 million more than it has brought in over the last five fiscal years, according to documents obtained by The Athletic through the Freedom of Information Act. Its football ticket sales rank 15th among the Big Ten’s 16 public universities, and its previous media rights deal with the Pac-12 was worth two-thirds less than what its Big Ten brethren received last year.
“We haven’t had an expense challenge, quite frankly, at UCLA,” athletic director Martin Jarmond told The Athletic last summer. “We’ve had a revenue challenge.”
But some of those financial challenges have evaporated since the Bruins joined the Big Ten this year. UCLA and USC became financially vested members upon arrival in the conference, an opportunity not afforded any of the Big Ten’s other newest members. UCLA received $19.93 million in media rights through its Pac-12 contract for the 2024 fiscal year. During the current fiscal year, fully vested Big Ten athletic departments expect to receive around $75 million from the conference.
That financial infusion comes at a perfect time for UCLA. Should Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California approve the House settlement, athletic departments can share up to $20.5 million with its athletes starting July 1.
“If the House settlement is accepted, as a member of the Big Ten Conference, in order to recognize the contributions of our student-athletes and continue to compete at an elite level, UCLA has committed to sharing the highest allowable amount of revenue,” Jarmond told The Athletic on Friday in a statement.
But every Big Ten athletic department plans to spend to the $20.5 million limit, and roughly 75 percent of that number is expected to be earmarked for football on most campuses. That’s also true at UCLA, but the schools’ broad-based athletic department has a robust tradition in sports outside of football, which makes the pay scale trickier and more reliant on outside funding.
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UCLA’s men’s basketball tradition demands a competitive program capable of winning league and national titles. UCLA’s women’s gymnastics program includes 2024 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles, who won the NCAA title in uneven bars on Thursday. The women’s basketball program made the Final Four this spring and featured first-team All-American center Lauren Betts. The Bruins currently rank fifth nationally in softball and 10th in baseball. Those athletes are perhaps as recognizable in Los Angeles as the Bruins’ starting quarterback.
To compete financially for athletes in every sport, UCLA and its supporters restructured its collective last fall. Champion of Westwood is the official NIL collective that supports all Bruins athletes. The collective has three subdivisions: Men of Westwood (men’s basketball), Bruins for Life (football) and Champions Fund (women’s basketball). Champion of Westwood operates independently, so the athletic department’s financial challenges have no bearing on how it supports athletes.
“Our collective has done an outstanding job over the past year positioning us for successful recruiting outcomes in advance of any changes that House may bring,” Jarmond said in a statement to questions by The Athletic. “We have incredibly dedicated supporters backing each fund and all three have the same goal: to provide opportunities that inspire student-athletes to choose UCLA, and to grow, thrive, and stay in Westwood.”
Despite the annual shortfall, the athletic department is integrated within the university and reports no debt. With the added Big Ten financial support, UCLA expects to close that deficit and trim costs in other ways. The department plans to freeze some open positions, localize more non-conference competition in all sports and optimize team travel. If Judge Wilken approves the House settlement, UCLA will lose about 100 athletes because of roster limits.
“Our administration is committed to doing our part to be fiscally responsible while remaining competitive,” Jarmond said in his statement. “In collaboration with campus leadership, we are evaluating all opportunities to reduce expenses with minimal student-athlete impact.”
(Photo: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
Scott Dochterman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering national college football and the Big Ten. He previously covered Iowa athletics for the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Land of 10.
