Tennessee Vols' Amari Evans exit after failed NIL agreement exposes flaws in college basketball
Tennessee Vols' Amari Evans exit after failed NIL agreement exposes flaws in college basketball originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Tennessee Volunteers remain under head coach Rick Barnes, and with each passing year, retirement speculation continues to surface. However, after the Vols’ loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight, Barnes made it clear he plans to return for another season.
“Rick Barnes made it clear he will be the Tennessee basketball coach next season. When Barnes was asked after the No. 6 Vols lost to No. 1 Michigan 95-62in the Men's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on March 29 if he’s 100% on coming back next season, he told reporters, “I am.” Knoxville News Sentinel’s Phil Kaplan wrote.
Barnes is expected to remain Tennessee’s head coach until he ultimately decides to retire, especially after signing a lifetime contract. Next season is shaping up to be an all-or-nothing campaign, as Tennessee is reportedly committing significant NIL resources to the roster.
“Tennessee basketball is on track to be among the elite in NIL spending next season. On3’s Pete Nakos on Thursday reported the Vols are one of a handful of teams set to spend $10 million or more in NIL for its roster next season,” VolQuest’s Grant Ramey wrote.
Tennessee has already seen several players enter the transfer portal. Nearly the entire Elite Eight roster is departing, with the exception of Dwayne Brown. Nate Ament and Ethan Burg have yet to make their decisions. The latest Volunteer to announce his intentions was Amari Evans .
“Tennessee guard Amari Evans will enter the Transfer Portal. Evans appeared in 35 games for the Vols during the 2025-26 season, and averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds on 41.9% shooting from the field. Both sides wanted to stay, but couldn’t reach an agreement,” Fox Sports Knoxville’s William Patteson wrote.
Evans’ decision to transfer highlights some of the challenges within the current NCAA landscape and the NIL era. Barnes has consistently emphasized that Evans was expected to become a culture-setter for the program.
Now, even with both sides initially wanting to remain on Rocky Top, Evans has chosen to leave after not securing the deal he envisioned. Barnes has been active in the transfer portal, but losing a player projected to be a leader is far from ideal.
