Lawyer Tom Mars, representing Spyre Sports Group, defended the University of Tennessee and quarterback Nico Iamaleava in a statement Tuesday in response to the NCAA's ongoing investigation into UT's use of name, image and likeness benefits.

Spyre Sports Group has signed more than 200 Tennessee athletes to NIL deals, according to the website for The Volunteer Club website, the NIL collective Spyre facilitates. The list of athletes includes Iamaleava, the Vols' starting QB who signed a lucrative NIL deal with the collective.

Mars said in the statement that Iamaleava's NIL deal with Spyre Sports Group was independent of Tennessee and was not an "inducement" dependent on the quarterback attending UT.

Tom Mars statement on Nico Iamaleava's NIL deal

"In early 2022, independent of the University of Tennessee or anyone associated with its athletics program, Spyre Sports entered into a mutually beneficial contractual relationship with Nico Iamaleava that involved a limited assignment of his NIL rights, no matter which school he chose to attend," Mars said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Such 'representation agreements' have become increasingly common. The parties agreed that their contractual rights and obligations would be governed by California law, which freely allows prospective college athletes to enter into such agreements."

" . . . The agreement required Spyre to protect the value of Nico's NIL rights and specifically stated that 'nothing in (the) agreement constitutes any form of inducement to ATHLETE to enroll at any school and/or join any athletic team.' In short, the agreement was fully consistent with then existing NCAA NIL 'guidelines' and had nothing to do with recruiting Nico to the University of Tennessee or any other school."

UT CHANCELLOR'S EMAIL TO NCAA: Tennessee's Donde Plowman slams NCAA as 'morally wrong' over NIL investigation, email shows

A FOCUS OF THE INVESTIGATION: Unpacking NCAA's investigation into Tennessee's NIL use and that Nico Iamaleava flight

When the NCAA met with Tennessee

The NCAA met with UT compliance staff members on Monday to discuss allegations the governing body may bring against the university related to NIL. Tennessee confirmed Tuesday that an investigation by the NCAA exists, but the school has not yet received a notice of allegations.

UT Chancellor Donde Plowman wrote an intense email to NCAA President Charlie Baker, calling the NCAA, among other things, "morally wrong" for its intent in pursuing allegations regarding NIL. Plowman criticized the NCAA's retroactive enforcement of its evolving NIL rules.

Plowman indicated that the school could face a lack of institutional control charge, the most serious violation in the NCAA rulebook. A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Knox News that UT could face multiple Level I and Level II violations, and that the allegations span multiple sports, including football.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nico Iamaleava NIL deal in Tennessee NCAA investigation 'not inducement'